Power Rangers: Remorphed
by srg118
Summary: Five former Power Rangers and their new friend encounter a new threat and old enemies and they are given the original Power Coins by old friends to stop their foes from conquering Angel Grove.
1. Chapter 1

A taxi cab drives down the road, past the tall trees and gas station nearby. The cab drives down the road and turns left to the road leading to the front of the Angel Grove Airport. The cab slows down and parks near the sidewalk, beside a bench. Seated on the bench is ZACK TAYLOR - 28 years old, African-American and with black hair. Zack is wearing an open black jacket over his white T-shirt, denim jeans and sneakers with black shoelaces. Zack picks up his suitcase from the sidewalk and rises up from the bench. Zack walks down to the taxi cab and sees the taxi driver, WINSTON - mid-30s with blond hair.

WINSTON: "You the guy I'm picking up?"

ZACK: "Yeah, I'm running late. Can you get me down to the Angel Grove Juice Bar, please?"

WINSTON: "Sure thing. Hop in."

Zack opens the back door of the cab and gets inside, setting his suitcase down on the empty seat beside him. Zack closes the door and he fastens his seat belt.

WINSTON: "Hope you got something to read. It's a long drive."

Zack looks at the cab driver, a little confused by what he's said.

ZACK: "What? It's just ten minutes from here."

WINSTON: "You've been away for quite a while, haven't you? The Juice Bar moved and had a reopening in the new Angel Grove Plaza two months ago."

Zack shakes his head and sits back to relax. He heaves a sigh.

ZACK: "Sounds like a lot has changed since I've been gone."

Winston starts up the taxi and drives it down the road, pulling it out of the airport.

* * *

The taxi cab slows down and parks before the center of the new Angel Grove Plaza. The wide, long Juice Bar and Diner stands at the eastern edge of the center, which has several large trees behind it. The back door opens and Zack gets out of the taxi cab. Zack takes out his suitcase, he sets it on the sidewalk and he shuts the cab door. Zack turns and he stares at the new, noticeably larger new Juice Bar. The design of it is identical to the original Gym and Juice Bar, even the sign. The only real difference is the name had been changed from Youth Center Gym and Juice Bar to Juice Bar and Diner. Zack smiles and he shakes his head.

ZACK: "Well, what's old is new again, I guess."

Zack turns to the taxi and he hands a handful of dollar bills to Winston.

ZACK: "Thanks for the lift down here, Winston."

WINSTON: "No problem. You need a lift, you know the number."

ZACK: "Sure thing. Thanks."

Winston waves and turns, driving away down the road. Zack picks up his suitcase, he walks down the sidewalk and to the Juice Bar's entry doors.

ZACK: "I hope I'm not too late to meet up with them."

* * *

The front doors to the Juice Bar open and Zack walks inside. Zack looks ahead in surprise at the interiors - the bar, the tables, the chairs, the wallpaper, it was all identical to the old Juice Bar. The only difference were the tables filled with seated customers on the ground floor where the workout equipment and mats had been. Zack is unable to suppress his smile as he takes in the view. He was starting to feel like a teenager again being in the new Juice Bar.

ZACK: "Wow. Looks just like the old bar, but bigger."

Zack looks around the room, taking in all of the sights. As he looks over at the bar, he gets a bigger smile on his face when he spots one of his oldest friends seated there.

ZACK: "Kim!"

KIMBERLY ANN HART - 29 years old with long brunette hair sits on a stool at the bar, wearing an open purple jacket over her black T-shirt, purple pants and black sneakers with purple laces. Kimberly turns her head to Zack after he called her name and she smiles excitedly from ear to ear. Zack sets down his suitcase by the bar as she rises up from her seat. Kimberly walks over to Zack and she hugs him, thrilled to see her old friend again.

ZACK: "It's good to see you. It's been a long time."

KIMBERLY: "Too long. I've missed you."

Zack ends the hug and looks at Kimberly.

ZACK: "I missed you, too. I meant to come by sooner. I've just been busy with the studio in Washington."

KIMBERLY: "I know. Who knew you'd go from the Peace Conference to running your own dance studio?"

Zack smiles at Kimberly. He'd had a lot of success with his dance studio he'd run over the past three years.

ZACK: "Look who's talking, Miss Former Pan-Global Games champ. How do you like your new job?"

KIMBERLY: "Things are going fine, thanks. I'm now the main gymnastics teacher at the Fitness Center here in the Plaza."

Kimberly turns to the doorway and she smiles at what she sees.

KIMBERLY: "On the subject, there's someone I'd like you to meet. He's the new head teacher of the martial arts division of the Fitness Center."

ZACK: "Oh, yeah? Who's that?"

Zack turns around and JASON LEE SCOTT - 29 years old with dark brown hair - walks into the room, dressed in a white T-shirt under an unbuttoned red long-sleeved shirt, black pants and black sneakers with red laces. His physique is muscular and athletically fit. Jason walks over to Zack, unable to hide his wide smile at the sight of his old friend. Zack returns the smile, excited to see his old friend again.

ZACK: (chuckles) "Jase! Good to see you, man!"

Zack shakes Jason's hand and then hugs him, patting Jason on the back. Jason ends the hug and he looks at his old friend.

JASON: "It's nice to see you back in town, Zack."

ZACK: "It'll be good to hang out with you guys again. Besides, I can hang with you and your fiancée."

Zack smiles and he turns around to Kimberly.

ZACK: "So, would you mind if I saw the ring?"

KIMBERLY: "Sure."

Kimberly holds out her hand and she shows Zack the gold engagement ring on her finger, with a fairly-fancy diamond on it. Zack smiles as he sees the ring. He couldn't believe Jason had picked out such a nice ring. He also couldn't believe the lady Jason was going to marry was the ex of one of his best friends.

ZACK: "You and Jase. I never thought I'd see the day, especially when I used to see you with Tommy."

KIMBERLY: "I know. But things had changed between us. I changed. We're still good friends, though. Besides, Tommy actually thinks we make a cute couple."

Zack looks around for a moment, smirking.

ZACK: "Speaking of which, where are Dr. and Mrs. Oliver, anyway? When are they coming by?"

JASON: "They're on their way over here. They'll be glad to see you again."

ZACK: "Kat's a nice lady, even if we only met three times. First at Trini's funeral, after her train derailed. I haven't seen them since their wedding. It was a nice reception."

JASON: "Yeah. It would've gone even better if Rocky didn't have the stomach flu and lose his lunch behind the table."

Kimberly smiles and she starts giggling. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten that had happened... but then, after she had actually seen it happen, it wasn't something you could really forget seeing.

KIMBERLY: "That's right. I forgot about that. Actually, I just heard from him yesterday. He's working as the fight choreographer with Adam for some new movie in Hong Kong, some kind of summer blockbuster. Never thought Rocky would be so successful as a stuntman. And Adam's got a dojo here in Angel Grove, about three blocks from here."

ZACK: "Yeah, I know. I heard from Tanya last week. She's over in New Jersey, working on a new song for her debut album."

Jason looks at the Juice Bar ahead, staring.

JASON: "It's weird how much it looks like the old bar, doesn't it?"

ZACK: "Yeah, I know. Where're the owners, anyway?"

KIMBERLY: "Bulk and Skull are out of town at a business meeting. They told us to tell you 'hi', by the way."

Kimberly notices Jason staring ahead at the Juice Bar. Jason smiles.

KIMBERLY: "What is it?"

JASON: "You remember, don't you? Nearly fifteen years ago."

Kimberly looks at the floor of the Juice Bar, past the tables of seated customers. She lets out a smile.

KIMBERLY: "I'll never forget it."

* * *

Jason thinks back, remembering his first time teleporting back in early September 1993, inside the original Gym and Juice Bar. There is an earthquake in progress and the people inside are running out of the Juice Bar. Jason, Kimberly, Zack are with their two friends, a beautiful Asian girl TRINI KWAN and the nerdy glasses-wearing BILLY CRANSTON. The five friends are 14 years old and they are standing in the center during the earthquake. As the last of the people leave the Juice Bar, Kimberly looks up as she finds she's frozen in place. She is unable to move, like her four friends.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, my gosh! What's happening?"

TRINI: "This is too weird!"

JASON: "Hold on!"

The five teenagers suddenly teleport away in streaks of energy - Jason's is red, Kimberly's pink, Zack's black, Trini's yellow and Billy's is blue.

* * *

The five teens suddenly teleport in, they fall and land on the floor of the Command Center. They stand up and they look around the interiors for the first time. Billy is the most excited by their new surroundings.

KIMBERLY: "This isn't exactly the mall, is it?"

BILLY: "This place is magnificent!"

JASON: "I don't get it. How did we end up here?"

TRINI: "I'd just like to know where 'here' is."

Just then, the robotic ALPHA 5 appears - with a red body with blue arms and legs, gloves, boots and with a dome-shaped head with a red visor. The teens don't notice Alpha's arrival as Billy goes to a control panel to start typing.

BILLY: "Well, maybe the answer's in these controls."

ALPHA 5: "No! No, don't touch that! Whoa! Whoa!"

Alpha 5 trips and falls, hitting the floor. The teens look over at Alpha in shock and Billy helps him stand.

BILLY: "Whoa!"

For a brief moment, the five stunned teenagers are seen from Alpha 5's robotic point of view.

BILLY: "A fully sentient, multi-functional automaton."

Once again from normal point of view, Alpha looks at the teens, turning his head from side to side.

BILLY: "I've never seen anything like it."

Billy follows Alpha 5's movements, staring at the robot in awe.

Suddenly, on the large plasma tube ahead, appears ZORDON, seeing only his bald head entirely in blue.

ZORDON: "Welcome, humans."

The others turn around and look up at Zordon, with Jason folding his arms over his chest.

TRINI: "Uh-oh."

JASON: "So who are you?"

KIMBERLY: "Like, what are you?"

ZORDON: "I am Zordon, an inter-dimensional being caught in a time warp."

ALPHA 5: "And my name is Alpha Five."

KIMBERLY: "Excuse me, but would, like, somebody come back to Earth and pick me up, because I am totally confused."

ZORDON: "It's quite simple, my dear. This planet is under attack and I have brought you here to save it."

* * *

Back in the Juice Bar, Jason shakes his head, snapped back to the present. He is seated at a table for six, with Kimberly and Zack seated at his right and left, respectively.

ZACK: "I remember everything like it was yesterday, man. Being the first one to go and calling Zordon a giant, floating head. It seemed so absurd at the time."

Kimberly smiles at Zack, while Jason takes a sip from his large cup of soda.

KIMBERLY: "We came around, though. Only Jason knew from the start we could do it. He was the last one to leave and the first to try and talk us into going back."

ZACK: "Things certainly changed from there. Tommy joining the team, Lord Zedd, the new Thunderzords. And that's all the recap of our times there before we left the team. Kim was there for a while after we left."

KIMBERLY: "Then I left for Florida to train for the Pan Global Games. And then Jason went back a while, on two different occasions."

JASON: "Yeah. It was a shame to see Billy leave, though."

ZACK: "I still can't believe he ended up on another planet."

Jason looks at the doorway and sees ETHAN KAYE - 28 years old, British and with dark brown hair - walk into the room. Ethan is wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers. Jason looks over, noticing Ethan has just arrived, and he smiles at the sight of his new friend.

JASON: "Oh, good. Ethan's here."

ZACK: "Who?"

JASON: "That's Ethan Kaye. He works at the Fitness Center with us as a martial arts instructor."

Zack turns around, as Ethan walks over to their table.

ETHAN: "Hello, Jason. I hope I'm not late."

JASON: "No, of course not. You're just in time to meet one of my oldest friends - Zack Taylor."

Zack stands up and shakes Ethan's hand.

ZACK: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ethan."

Ethan nods, ending the handshake.

ETHAN: "Likewise."

Ethan sits down on an empty seat, as Zack sits back down.

ETHAN: "So, what were you discussing?"

JASON: "We were just talking about some old memories when we were in high school."

ETHAN: "Yes, I remember you all were quite involved back then. You played sports, volunteered for food fairs and clean-up clubs, did school plays, found homes for animals..."

Ethan pauses for a second. He looks over at Jason.

ETHAN: "Come to think of it, you all were rather busy. When did you have time to study, let alone relax?"

Jason smiles at Ethan's comments. If his friend only knew just how busy they really were when they were teenagers...

JASON: (shrugs) "We found time. We were pretty busy in those days. Things kept coming up."

DR. TOMMY OLIVER - 29 years old with dark brown hair - walks to their table, wearing a jacket over his T-shirt, jeans and shoes with green laces. Walking with Tommy is KAT HILLARD, now Kat Oliver - 29 years old, Australian and with short blonde hair. Kat is wearing a pink jacket over her T-shirt, pink pants and sneakers. Tommy smiles at Zack, happy to see his old friend again.

TOMMY: "I see you guys have already started to catch up on the old days without us, huh?"

Zack looks over at Tommy and Kat as they walk in and he smiles at them.

ZACK: "Tommy!"

Zack stands up and walks to Tommy, shaking his hand.

ZACK: "It's been a while."

TOMMY: "Glad to see you back, buddy."

Zack ends the handshake and then he hugs Katherine.

ZACK: "It's good to see you too, Kat."

KAT: "Welcome back, Zackary."

Katherine kisses Zack's cheek and she ends the hug.

ZACK: "Well, now that you're here, let's get caught up."

Tommy sits on the vacant middle chair beside Ethan and Katherine sits next to Tommy.

ETHAN: "I heard two you were back in town. How was your trip?"

KAT: "We had a good vacation, thanks. We got back into town yesterday from London."

JASON: "Well, since we're all here, how about we order some dinner? I'm buying."

TOMMY: "Sounds good. Then we can discuss our plans for the week."


	2. Chapter 2

The six friends are still seated at the table. They now have glasses and/or cans of Coca-Cola on the table, as well as pizza slices on their plates. The plate of pizza that was in front of them is empty, and a WAITRESS walks by and sets down a plate of another whole pepperoni pizza in front of them on top of the empty plate.

WAITRESS: "Here's your other pizza. Let me know if you'd like to order anything else."

TOMMY: "We will, thank you."

Zack has finished the last bite of his pizza slice. He smiles and looks at the whole pizza in front of them.

ETHAN: "No. You can't do it. I can't believe you're doing it."

Zack pulls a large slice of pepperoni pizza and he bites down into it. Jason smiles and shakes his head. He takes a bite out of his own slice of pizza.

ETHAN: "That's your fifth piece and you're still eating?"

JASON: "The Zack man's always had the biggest appetite out of everyone in the group. None of us have even come close."

Zack smirks at Jason and he chuckles.

ZACK: "And I'm just getting warmed up."

Tommy and Kat both grab another slice of pizza each, as Zack takes a big bite out of his pizza slice.

KIMBERLY: "I can believe that."

Kimberly reaches over and she picks up a half-eaten slice of pizza from her plate to continue eating. Zack swallows his bite of food as he looks over at Jason.

ZACK: "Thanks for the pizzas, Jase."

JASON: "No problem. I was originally going to cook for us at my place, but I thought you'd rather eat here."

ZACK: "Good call. This way the food would actually be edible."

JASON: (smiles) "Zack..."

ZACK: "Just teasing, man. But you do remember the last time you tried to cook dinner for us by yourself, don't you? I'm sure the Angel Grove Fire Department does."

Kimberly swallows her bite of pizza and she looks at Zack with a smirk.

KIMBERLY: "All joking aside, why don't you guys drop by our place after dinner? I've got an early birthday surprise for you, Zack."

Zack smiles at Kimberly, who takes a sip from her soda.

ZACK: "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

Kimberly sets her cup down and she simply smiles at Zack.

* * *

A short time later, in the living room, Zack is seated on the couch, between Ethan and Jason. Kimberly and Katherine sit on the floor before them, while Tommy sits on a chair. Zack is on the screen of Jason's widescreen TV, wearing a tuxedo outfit and holding a microphone.

ZACK (on TV): (sings) "GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!"

ZACK: "Oh, no! This is the karaoke party we went to after Tommy and Kat's wedding!"

TOMMY: "I forgot you had a copy of this."

KIMBERLY: "I found the tape in a moving box when I moved here into Jason's home. I saw all the footage of what we did and I couldn't resist watching it."

ETHAN: "Looks like you had fun. And Zack has a great singing voice."

Zack shakes his head, grinning.

ZACK: "Oh, that was so bad."

JASON: "I remember it was so long since he last sang the song, he forgot some of the words."

ZACK: "Aw, Jase!"

Kimberly starts laughing as she remembers what happens next with Zack's performance.

KIMBERLY: (laughs) "That's right, you did! And he just kept singing anyway! So he just went 'dun nun nun nun' for the missing lyrics."

JASON: "Wait, wait. Here it comes."

ZACK (on TV): (singing) "DUN NUN NUN NUN... DUN NUN NUN NUN! GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!"

Everyone starts laughing... except for Zack. Zack glances at Jason and he gives his old friend a pleading look.

ZACK: "This is revenge, isn't it, Jase? I never meant to mock your cooking, man."

JASON: (laughs) "Relax, Zack. Your song's almost over."

ZACK: "Thank God for that."

KAT: "Oh, wait a minute. I remember what came next!"

Kimberly beams a wide grin and she turns back to the TV. She knew exactly what Kat was talking about, and judging by the frown on Jason's face, it was apparent he did too.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, God! That's right!"

ETHAN: "What? What happened next?"

KIMBERLY: "Well, next is when Jason and Zack went up to help Tommy sing for Katherine. They got together to sing some songs at the party as a group of three, and nicknamed themselves 'The Studs'."

Ethan starts laughing as he glances over at the trio.

ETHAN: "The what?"

Jason puts a hand on Kimberly's shoulder, looking a little uncomfortable.

JASON: "You know, Kim, maybe we_ should_ push stop. I think Zack's getting embarrassed."

KIMBERLY: (giggles) "What's wrong, dear? Afraid of getting embarrassed, too?"

KAT: "Wait, here it is!"

On the TV, Jason and Tommy get up on the stage with Zack. Tommy and Jason are dressed in tuxedos and hold microphones in their hands. In the footage, Jason has a goatee.

ZACK: (chuckles) "Nice goatee, man."

TOMMY (on TV): "Today, on our wedding day, I'd like to dedicate this next song to my lovely new bride, Katherine. We've known each other for years and I plan to spend many more with her."

Kat looks at Tommy with a loving smile and she gently holds his hand.

TOMMY (on TV): "And with the help of two of my dearest and closest friends, Zack and Jason, I'd like them to help me show you just how much you mean to me and lay any doubts of hers to rest."

JASON and ZACK (on TV): (sings) "OOOOOHH..."

TOMMY (on TV): (sings) "BABY, I'M YOURS..."

JASON and ZACK (on TV): (sings) "BABY, I'M YOURS."

TOMMY (on TV): (sings) "AND I'LL BE YOURS..."

JASON and ZACK (on TV): (sings) "YOURS."

TOMMY (on TV): (sings) "UNTIL THE STARS FALL FROM THE SKY."

Zack starts chuckling as he puts his hand over his eyes to keep from watching this train wreck even further. Ethan smiles and he looks over at Kimberly.

ETHAN: "Tell me, is there a spare copy of this I can keep?"

* * *

Later that night, only Jason and Zack are left in the living room. Jason walks with Zack over to the front door, as Zack grabs his jacket from the coat rack.

JASON: "Well, you're the last to go. You looking forward to hanging out tomorrow?"

ZACK: "Sure thing. Scoping out the town should be interesting. A lot has changed since I left."

JASON: "But you're back now."

ZACK: "Just for the week, Jase. I go back to the airport Saturday morning. But I'm sure going to make the most of my time here."

Jason forces a smile and he nods at Zack.

JASON: "See you at ten, then?"

ZACK: "You bet."

JASON: "Good night, Zack."

ZACK: "Good night."

Zack opens the door and he walks out. He closes the door behind him and leaves Jason alone. Jason locks the door behind him and then he leans with his back against the wall. Jason sighs and hangs his head. It was great having Zack back in Angel Grove... even if it would only be for a short while.

* * *

In the large master bedroom of Jason's house, Kimberly stands in the closet, wearing blue pajama pants. Kimberly removes her T-shirt, wearing a white strapless bra beneath. Kimberly sets down the shirt on the laundry basket on the floor and she takes a blue, short-sleeved pajama shirt off from a hangar. Kimberly puts on the pajama shirt and she fixes the collar. Kimberly walks out of the bedroom closet and she turns off the light behind her. Kimberly sits on the bed, as Jason walks into the room. Kimberly smiles as her boyfriend sits beside her.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, honey. It was sure was nice getting to see Zack again, wasn't it?"

JASON: "Even if it is for the week."

Kimberly gives him a soft smile and she holds his hand. He was never any good at hiding how he really felt from her.

KIMBERLY: "I know you miss seeing him around here. Having Zack around reminds us of old times."

JASON: "Too bad most of our old times we couldn't mention in front of Ethan. But I think it worked out well. I really wanted him to be here and get to know Zack."

KIMBERLY: "Well, you and Ethan have gotten to be good friends yourselves."

JASON: "Yeah, we have. And you're good friends with him, too. He's been a big help to us at the Center."

Kimberly nods and she gently squeezes Jason's hand. She turns to the window and she looks out at the night sky.

JASON: "Are you okay?"

KIMBERLY: "I'm fine. It's just... it's still weird, isn't it? Looking at Angel Grove so quiet and safe."

Jason looks out the window, noticing how nice and quiet everything was. Jason smiles and he chuckles. Angel Grove wasn't always such a quiet, safe place for them to live in.

JASON: "Yeah, it is. But it's nice to know that things have stayed quiet around here for so long now that everything's back to normal."

Jason smiles and he looks at Kimberly.

JASON: "We'd better get ready for bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

KIMBERLY: "Sure thing."

Kimberly kisses Jason and then ends the kiss. Jason lets go of Kimberly's hands and gets up off the bed, standing up.

JASON: "I'll be right back."

Jason walks down the room and into the bathroom. The door closes and Kimberly looks at the window again, looking at the stars and full moon in the night sky.

* * *

In another solar system is the large, dark gray planet of Drynnix, with three thin rings around it. Among the other alien planets are a black planet with a sole red ring and a silver planet twice the size of Saturn.

* * *

Past several dark mountains is the three stories tall Royal Castle, with two towers standing at the sides of it. The castle and its towers are made up of black stone. A large metal gate surrounds the castle and its two towers, which lies on the rough, rocky grounds of the planet. Looming miles away in the distance, past the back of the Royal Castle, is a large mining camp, with dozens of small buildings around the mining area.

* * *

Inside the Royal Castle, the large throne room is made up entirely of black stone, with a tall black throne in the middle of the room. LORD DOMMINNOUS sits on the throne, looking mid-40s but with pale gray skin, cat-like yellow eyes and reptilian scales around his bald head. Domminnous is wearing a black robe with armored plates over his black uniform and he holds a long black staff in his hand.

DOMMINNOUS: "I have found the power source we require. You were able to help me once in the past, my friends. To think, after all that's happened with you all... the defeats of your monsters, of you losing your own hideout, the loss of your Zord Serpentera, and your last incident with Zordon..." (sighs) "That is why I found the power necessary to bring all of you back. Your normal forms have been fully restored, but your powers have increased tremendously. Now that you are back, you can help me recover the great power that I had once possessed for generations." (pauses) "That is, before it was taken away from me and partly buried here on this deserted planet. We will need help retrieving them, even more than what you and your forces can grant, I'm afraid. Even my own forces aren't enough. We need enough workers to help us find the lost Dark Power Zords, so that I can once again have the power needed to overtake this galaxy. That is where you all come in."

Domminnous smiles at LORD ZEDD standing before him. Zedd wears a skinny silver metal plate outfit over his skinless front and back, a red visor over his eyes on his metal face plate, tubes over his veins and holds a silver staff with a Z on top. Standing beside Zedd is RITA REPULSA - looking early 30s with two pointed hair cones and wearing a black neckpiece over an orange dress. Beside Rita stands GOLDAR - wearing a suit made up of golden armor, as well as golden gloves and golden boots. Goldar has two furry black locks, black wings and his furry black tail is pinned to the backside of his armored suit. Goldar is blue skinned with red eyes. Rita holds a tall black staff in her hand, while Goldar holds a gray sword in one of his hands.

RITA: "Of course! After all we've been through, it's good to be back!"

ZEDD: "Zordon's death had eliminated most of the evil forces and changed us. If not for you, we would have remained humans and..." (groans) "... good."

Zedd lowers his staff, growling. He clutches his Z-staff tighter in his left hand, getting angry at the thought of having been turned human by Zordon's energy wave.

ZEDD: "That we could never tolerate."

Domminnous smiles at Rita and he holds up a ruby red gem, about as large as a dollar bill, in his right hand.

DOMMINNOUS: "Hence the Elivoss stone that I possess, which returned you to your former selves. Finding you was difficult, but worth it. With you back at my side, evil will once again spread, stronger than ever."

ZEDD: "Well, then, if it's more forces you seek, I know the perfect species for the task."

Domminnous chuckles to himself.

DOMMINNOUS: "Ah, yes. The humans. Earth is a very troublesome planet. And the ever changing roster of those obnoxious Power Rangers tend to foil any plans we might have. But there have been no signs of them yet, in whatever form they may take next. Where should we start?"

RITA: "The original Power Rangers of Angel Grove ruined my plans when I had returned. That is the most appropriate place to start."

Domminnous lets out an evil smile and he nods at the other villains standing before him.

DOMMINNOUS: "Angel Grove. The very name makes me sick." (chuckles) "Very well. We will begin in the morning. We will make sure that our mining quarters will be ready for our new guests. And with the humans we'll take as our new slave workers, we should be able to find the Dark Power Zords soon enough."

ZEDD: "Goldar, go to Finster! Have him get the new Putty clay and create a new batch for the mine!"

GOLDAR: "As you command."

Goldar turns and walks out of the room. It was almost time to begin.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, back on Earth, the front doors to the Fitness Center of Angel Grove Plaza slide open. Zack walks inside, wearing a white T-shirt with black stripes, black pants and white shoes. Zack looks around the large hallway, seeing a set of elevators ahead at the front wall and the door to a stairway to his right. He looks around the hallway for a few moments. This Plaza was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside and the design of it was fairly impressive. Jason, Ethan and Kimberly stand at the side wall nearby, waiting. Ethan and Jason are wearing tank tops, pants and shoes, while Kimberly is wearing a black tank top, black shorts and black sneakers with pink laces. Kimberly smiles and she waves over at Zack.

KIMBERLY: "Hey, Zack."

ZACK: "Whoa! Look at this place."

JASON: "It's pretty cool, huh? Would you care for the grand tour?"

ZACK: "From the three best trainers in the place? Sure, why not?"

KIMBERLY: "Actually, this is my day off. But Jason teaches a class in an hour, though."

ZACK: "Well, let's get started, then. Lead the way."

ETHAN: "Very well, then. Come along."

Ethan walks down the hall, with Kimberly, Jason and Zack following.

ZACK: "So, uh, when does this place apply for statehood, Jase?"

* * *

In the parking lot of Angel Grove Plaza, Tommy gets out of his black Ford Focus and shuts the door behind him. Kat gets out of the passenger seat and shuts the door behind her. Both are wearing sneakers and unzipped jackets over their black tank tops. Tommy is wearing black pants, while Kat is wearing black shorts.

KAT: "Did you hear from them?"

TOMMY: "Yeah, they're waiting for us inside. I told Zack we'd take him out tomorrow night to show him around, after I finish teaching."

KAT: "Sounds like fun. Where do you think we should..."

Kat suddenly stops, as the floor lightly tremors. Tommy and Kat step back and look at the floor.

TOMMY: "What is that?"

The tremors grow and get more powerful, making the ground shake. Tommy and Kat stagger back, with Kat falling back and against the Ford Focus.

TOMMY: (grunts) "Aw, man! Heck of a time for an earthquake."

Kat manages to sit up, as Tommy tries to keep his balance. But the earthquake is too intense and Tommy quickly falls to the floor, landing on his back. Tommy winces and sits up. Kat looks up at the sky and shakes her head, as the floor shakes faster. Kat stares at the sky, stunned by what she sees.

KAT: "Tommy...this definitely isn't an earthquake."

Tommy looks up at the sky, as a shadow looms over the plaza and starts to grow outward. The shadow stretches out over the streets and buildings nearby.

* * *

Back on Drynnix, in the Royal Castle's laboratory, dozens of tables of equipment are placed around various areas of the large room. Everything from test tubes and beakers to machines being assembled set on the tables. A large, wide silver machine stands at the side wall of the room. Domminnous, Zedd, Rita and Goldar stand beside the machine at the wall, its height stretching up to the top of the ceiling.

DOMMINNOUS: "The transporter is powering up. Within seconds, it will lock over the largest business center and towns of Angel Grove. And when it's ready, every man, woman and child will be teleported to the mines here to assist in our work."

Goldar stands at the controls of the machine, as the lights on the side of its console glow red.

GOLDAR: "The power grid has reached full power, Lord Domminnous."

DOMMINNOUS: "Excellent. Activate the transporter now, Goldar!"

Goldar nods and he pushes a button on the controls. The transporter lets out a low buzz that slowly grows louder and louder. The machine shines with indigo light and Goldar steps back.

* * *

In the main hall of the Fitness Center, Jason falls to all fours as the floor continues to shake. Jason is unable to stand, hearing glass shatter and car alarms go off outside. Jason turns and sees Kimberly lying on the floor, with Zack and Ethan lying in the open doorway.

ZACK: "Oh man, this quake's getting worse!"

Kimberly turns around and she looks on in shock.

KIMBERLY: "You guys! It's no earthquake!"

Jason turns around and looks down the hall. A dim indigo light shines on his face.

JASON: "My God!"

A wave of indigo light slowly washes through the wall down the hallway, sparking with energy. A stray blast hits the wall as it slowly approaches, destroying a light on the ceiling. Kimberly lets out a scream and she quickly ducks her head, just as another stray beam shoots through the hall. Jason looks on, as Kimberly tries to get up. The wave of energy builds up speed and quickly washes ahead at them.

JASON: (yells) "WE HAVE TO _GET OUT!_"

Jason gets up to his knees, but sees the wave wash over Kimberly, Ethan and Zack in blinding speed, then it washes over Jason himself before he can react. Everyone in the energy field disappears, fading away, as it rushes by through the hall.

* * *

Back in the parking lot, Tommy sits up by Kat and holds onto her, as a stray energy blast fires out and zaps through a parked car nearby. The back of the car is blasted through and the glass of the back windshield explodes, shattering glass down on the street. Kat gasps, startled. Tommy looks at the car, burned by the blast, and then he looks ahead. The energy wave spreads over the Fitness Center, then the rest of Angel Grove plaza, and across the street. The energy wave expands outwards, like a giant bubble of light.

TOMMY: "What is that? What's going on?"

The bubble rushes ahead and over at Tommy and Kat. Kat turns her head aside, looking away as the energy wave engulfs over them.

KAT: (shouts) "_TOMMY!_"

The energy wave continues to grow out through the town to the next street, as Tommy and Kat disappear in the energy bubble. The wave of energy continues, rushing at blinding speed and over the buildings and apartments in the distance. The bubble has grown over building after building on opposite sides of the road from the Plaza. As the bubble continues to expand out, it suddenly slows and strains. The bubble instantly falls and disappears, evaporating into indigo smoke.

* * *

Near the mining field on Drynnix, Kat is crouched on the rocky ground, with Tommy knelt beside her and holding her. Kat looks up at Tommy.

KAT: "Is it over?"

Tommy doesn't answer. He's staring up at the sky.

KAT: "Tommy?"

Kat looks at Tommy in confusion a moment and then she looks up at the sky. Kat looks in shock, seeing the dim light of the white sun overhead in the sky.

TOMMY: "Whatever that thing was, it definitely took us away from Angel Grove."

Kat looks around for a few moments, noticing the surroundings of the alien planet they've been transported to. Kat suddenly stops as she looks ahead.

KAT: "Tommy, look."

Tommy looks ahead and sees Ethan, Kimberly, Zack and Jason standing in the distance. They're looking around at the large gray mountains in the background of the wide gray caverns. The large caverns stretch out for miles in length and width. Ethan looks at the white sun in the air and then looks around at the hundreds of men, women and children standing on the ground.

KIMBERLY: "Where are we?"

JASON: "That's a good question, darling."

Jason and Kimberly turn and look around the area. Standing nearby is JESSICA ANNA HARTLEY - 26, buxom and beautiful. Jessica has long blonde hair, brown eyes and has a lean, athletically fit physique. Jessica is wearing an unzipped jacket over her black tank top, red shorts, gray and gray sneakers with red laces.

Zack looks at the scared kids looking around the area and sees Winston looking around the area. Ethan turns around, as he sees MR. ANDREWS - mid-40s with gray hair and wearing a business suit. Andrews looks around in shock, as Ethan walks to him.

ETHAN: "Mr. Andrews!"

ANDREWS: "What's going on? What happened?"

DOMMINNOUS: "I can answer that."

Everyone turns around and sees Domminnous standing before them. Tommy and Kat quickly stand up, as Mr. Andrews steps back in shock.

ANDREWS: "What is that?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Lord Domminnous, ruler of planet Drynnix."

ANDREWS: "Lord Dominos? What kind of nonsense is this?"

Domminnous cringes after hearing his name mispronounced so carelessly and he quickly puts his hands beside each other with his palms out. Domminnous fires a large, wide purple fireball that hits Mr. Andrews square on the chest and the impact knocks him to the floor. Ethan rushes to Mr. Andrews' side and he helps him sit up. Mr. Andrews is hurt, but mostly just stunned by the hit he's just taken.

ETHAN: "Mr. Andrews! Are you all right?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Your species needs a lesson in manners. My name is not Dominos, it's Domminnous. It means 'dark ruler' in the Tennetti tongue. You've been brought here to become my new workers for the mines of this planet."

ETHAN: "To work as slave labor, you mean. Why do you need us?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Centuries ago, I was defeated by a powerful being of goodness from the planet Eltar and imprisoned on a planet serving as a prison for evil beings, while my Dark Power Zords were broken and their pieces buried on three different planets throughout the galaxy. I barely managed to escape the jail and make my way to the first planet, Leonisis."

Domminnous looks at the crowd as the five former Rangers look on sternly.

DOMMINNOUS (cont'd): "With the help of the natives on the planet, I made them help me dig out the first parts of the two Zords and did the same to the next planet. I finally found this deserted planet where the last pieces were, but there came a price with my discovery."

Domminnous looks down at his hands, as his hands spark with dim purple electricity.

DOMMINNOUS: "I didn't know the atmosphere of this planet would weaken my powers and prevent me from leaving. With my space ship destroyed, I had been left stranded here with my allies and henchmen and had no way to escape. I also lacked the right amount of numbers necessary to dig the parts out and finish assembling the Dark Zords... until now."

ANDREWS: (grunts) "Why should we help you?"

DOMMINNOUS: "I maybe a dark ruler of this planet, but I am not without some form of mercy...however little of it I may possess. I brought you here with my transporter machine. When you have finished helping me, I will send you back to your little planet. I've left the native species of the other two planets alone, as I had promised them."

JESSICA: "How do we know you'll let us go after we help you?"

Domminnous glances at Jessica and he smirks in amusement.

DOMMINNOUS: "My species is bound to their word when they make a promise. You have my word you will all be set free. However, should any of you resist working, cause trouble or even attempt to find the transporter to get back, there are harsh penalties to deal with your disobedience."

Domminnous looks over to his left, as five GUARDS in suits of black armor approach. Each guard holds a large black trident in their hands, with purple energy sparking from the three tips.

DOMMINNOUS: "These are my guards that will watch you as you work."

One of the guards holds a large black club in his left hand, while another guard holds a white bullwhip in his left hand, which emits steam and white sparks down its long lash.

DOMMINNOUS (cont'd): "Stunner tridents, clubs, energy whips...all three are the _tamest_ weapons of persuasion you'll feel if you disobey me."

Domminnous points over at the cabins ahead, miles away from the caves.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those are your quarters where you will go after work. There are enough beds for everyone, as well as clothes and food in the dining cabin. The last three chambers are for the children, where parents can visit them under supervision after work... so long as they stay in line. They will be taken care of under my guards' watch and shall not be harmed."

Domminnous turns around to the Guards, as they holster their weapons.

DOMMINNOUS: "Guards, take the children away to their cabins"

The Guards nod and walk to the children. One Guard reaches for a young blonde girl, but a MAN approaches and grabs the guard's wrist.

MAN: "Don't touch her!"

The Guard struggles with the man and the man shoves the guard back. The guard punches the man across the jaw and knocks him to the floor. The Guard reaches for his energy whip, but Zack runs to the guard and kicks his back from behind, shoving the Guard to the floor. Power Morpher or not, he couldn't let that creep hurt somebody.

ZACK: "No! Don't hurt him!"

KIMBERLY: "Zack, no!"

The other Guards turn to Zack and they aim their tridents at him. One Guard hits Zack in the chest with the trident and the hit emits a purple spark to his chest, shocking Zack. The shock pushes Zack back and he grunts as he's knocked down to the floor. Kimberly and Jason run over to Zack and they help him sit up.

JASON: "Zack, are you okay?"

DOMMINNOUS: "Resistance so early?"

Zack winces and rubs his chest, as Jason eyes him in concern.

ZACK: (grunts) "It's okay, Jase. I'm okay."

The Guards start to walk to Jason and Kimberly, but they quickly freeze as Domminnous holds up his left hand to stop them. Zack looks up and he sees Domminnous walk to him. Domminnous stands before Zack and he sneers.

DOMMINNOUS: "Two troublemakers already?"

ZACK: "I don't want any trouble. I just didn't want to see the guy get hurt, that's all."

Domminnous looks at Jason and Kim and then eyes Zack. Domminnous chuckles at them.

DOMMINNOUS: "You have friends looking after you. They'll share in your trouble. I'd like to have a word with you and your friends."

Domminnous looks up from Zack and turns around, pointing at Tommy and Kat.

DOMMINNOUS (cont'd): "And them, as well."

Domminnous snaps his fingers and Tommy turns around. Tommy looks in shock, as eight classic PUTTY PATROLLERS - gray-skinned clay monsters, looking just as the same as when Finster made them years ago - approach.

TOMMY: "Putties? But it can't be!"

One Putty each grabs Tommy and Kat by their arms.

TOMMY: "Hey!"

The Putties pull Tommy and Kat back, as the other Putties go to Zack. Two Putties grab Zack by his arms, as two more grab Kimberly and two more grab Jason, pulling them away. Ethan looks on, confused by what was going on.

ETHAN: "Jason!"

JASON: "Get off of me!"

The Putties drag the five away, as Domminnous eyes the men, women and children around him.

DOMMINNOUS: "Now, I won't say this again - take the children to their quarters and you all get started on your work in the caverns."

Domminnous turns and he follows the Putties to the castle.

* * *

In the Royal Castle's throne room, the Putties enter, dragging Jason, Kim, Zack, Tommy and Kimberly with them. The five futilely struggle with the Putties to get free.

KIMBERLY: "Stop it! Let go of me!"

The Putties throw the five down and they hit the floor, hard. The five wince in pain from the impact. Kimberly gets to all fours as the others stand up.

ZEDD: "Well, well. It's been a long time, _ex_-Pink Ranger."

Kimberly widens her eyes and looks up, startled. Kimberly stands up and steps back, as stunned as her friends at the sight of Goldar, Rita and Lord Zedd.

TOMMY: "Rita? Zedd? I heard you two were turned human."

Tommy looks away and over at Goldar.

TOMMY (cont'd): "And you were literally dust."

DOMMINNOUS: "Actually, it was sand."

The five ex-Rangers turn around and they see Domminnous enter the room.

DOMMINNOUS: "One of my greatest discoveries on the alien planet of Isyrous was finding the Elivoss stone. Its power was enough to revive my friends to their true nature after Zordon's noble sacrifice. They are my equals ruling this planet and we had just enough clay to create the Putties before you. There was only enough for eight now, but they're stronger than any Putties that you had ever faced before."

Domminnous looks at each of the five Rangers and he sneers.

DOMMINNOUS: "I must confess, though, it's strange to think you specks gave Rita and Zedd such trouble."

ZACK: "It was the least we could do."

DOMMINNOUS: "Again with the mouth. To think that Zordon chose a rude twerp such as you to be a Power Ranger."

Domminnous glances over at Tommy.

DOMMINNOUS: "You started as the Green Ranger, didn't you? Then white. Then some more colorful incarnations."

Domminnous looks over at Kat and then he looks at Zack.

DOMMINNOUS: "You were the second Pink Ranger and you the first Black Ranger."

Domminnous eyes Jason and then Kimberly. He smiles at Kimberly, amused, and she just sneers in response.

DOMMINNOUS: "That just leaves the original Red Ranger, the first leader of the team, and the original Pink Ranger. I remember you were chosen once to be Zedd's bride."

After hearing that remark, Rita promptly smacks the back of Zedd's head with her free hand.

RITA: "What were you _thinking_, you _clod?!_"

Zedd growls at Rita in response as he rubs the back of his head. Domminnous smiles and he puts his hand under Kimberly's chin, much to Jason's dismay.

DOMMINNOUS: "Such a pretty creature. No wonder Zedd selected you."

Kimberly sneers and turns her head aside. Domminnous smiles and steps back, looking at the quintet.

DOMMINNOUS: "I was going to have Goldar explain the rules of the planet here to you humans, but when our transporter detected the presence of five former Power Rangers, I was intrigued and went myself to see the specks that thwarted the plans of evil for so long."

ZACK: "Not to interrupt, but didn't you kind of make that point already?"

Domminnous sneers and he raises his staff, but Jason stands before Zack to protect him. Domminnous stops and he grins at Jason.

DOMMINNOUS: "Ah. The overprotective leader. Willing to save his friends from harm. How utterly... human."

Domminnous shoves his right palm against Jason's chest and fires purple fireball at his chest. The fireball shoves Jason back and he falls, landing hard on his back on the floor. Jason grunts in pain, momentarily stunned.

KIMBERLY: "Jason!"

Zack and Kimberly start to move, but Domminnous holds his staff before them and blocks their way forward. Kat and Tommy move to Jason, but Zedd and Rita block their path. Rita holds out her wand before Kat and Zedd holds out his staff in front of Tommy. Tommy and Kat step back. Goldar smiles and steps his foot down on Jason's throat, pinning him down. Jason grabs Goldar's foot and struggles to lift it off.

GOLDAR: "It's good to have you back where you belong... under my foot."

Jason shoves Goldar's foot off and Kimberly runs to Jason. Jason rolls aside and sits up, rubbing his throat. Kimberly stands beside Jason and helps him stand.

KIMBERLY: "Are you okay?"

DOMMINNOUS: "I brought you here to be made aware of what happens when you decide to play hero. Even without your powers, you're still capable of being pests. So, my guards are going to watch each of you closely while you work, even that new friend of yours."

TOMMY: "Leave Ethan alone! He has nothing to do with this!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Then if you want to keep him safe, I suggest you all do your best to remember your place."

Domminnous turns and he looks back at the Putties.

DOMMINNOUS: "Take them back to the mines and have them get to work."

The Putties walk to the five former Rangers and grab them by the arms, dragging them out of the room.

* * *

That afternoon, within the large caverns, GUARD #1 walks down the mines, holding a club in one hand. He looks around the mine, seeing men and women digging in the walls. Jessica is one of the people digging rocks out of a cavern wall. A man stops a moment, trying to catch his breath. Guard #1 nudges his the end of his club roughly onto the man's back.

GUARD #1: "Get to work!"

The man wipes the sweat from his brow, picks up his pick and starts digging into the wall. Guard #1 walks down the caves and to a lower part of it, seeing more men and women digging. Zack and Jason are among the people working inside the cavern. Jason and Zack, along with three other men, are digging in the ground with shovels, moving the red dirt away from the hole they're making in the floor. Guard #1 walks down the room and towards Jason and Zack.

ZACK: "Heck of a way to continue our reunion, huh, Jase? I come back in town for a party and we get drafted instead."

JASON: "Keep it down, Zack. We can't talk while we're working."

Guard #1 passes by, having overheard their conversation, and he smacks Zack on his shoulder with his club.

GUARD #1: "Listen to your friend, slave! Keep digging!"

Guard #1 walks off and Zack resumes shoveling with Jason.

ZACK: (whispers) "Jeez, you think looking for a missing limb from a fifty stories tall robot would be quicker to find, huh? But it is a bit hard checking inside the walls and under the ground when the caves here stretch out for miles."

Jason stops a moment and he eyes Zack.

JASON: (whispers) "We can't let him reassemble these Zords, Zack. We both know just how powerful and destructive that these machines could be, especially in the wrong hands."

Zack looks over at Jason, as Jason digs his shovel in the ground and he moves more dirt away.

ZACK: (whispers) "Yeah. But if we don't, Domminnous might just decide to blow up his little transporter device and we'll never see Earth again. Or worse, he may finish us all off one at a time if we try and stop his plans."

Zack shakes his head, as GUARD #2 walks down the hall. Jason sees the Guard enter and looks away as he digs.

JASON: (whispers) "I suggest that we continue this low-toned conversation when it's more private."

Jason shovels a bit quicker, as does Zack, while Guard #2 walks by and looks around. Zack looks over and sees Guard #2 walking off. As the Guard leaves, Zack turns back to Jason.

ZACK: (whispers) "Still, I wish I knew where the others were."

Jason briefly stops and he frowns.

JASON: (sighs) "Me, too."


	4. Chapter 4

In a lower level of the caverns, Kimberly is digging with a shovel in the ground, with Ethan at her side. Two other men shovel nearby, including a shirtless Tommy.

ETHAN: "What did Domminnous want with you in the castle?"

TOMMY: "He wanted us to warn the others that he has other, more powerful helpers with him."

ETHAN: "But if he wanted to warn us about that, why tell you to tell us? This doesn't make much sense."

KIMBERLY: "Being brought to become slaves for an intergalactic dark lord doesn't make much sense either, but here we are."

ETHAN: "It's curious. If this Domminnous is so powerful and could transport us here, why didn't he use the transporter to send himself anywhere he wanted to find other species to dig out these parts?"

Tommy stops digging a moment and looks at Ethan.

TOMMY: "Maybe he can't. It brought us to this place and can send us back, but we're human. Domminnous and his helpers aren't."

KIMBERLY: "You think there maybe something about the machine that won't let Domminnous leave here?"

Tommy resumes digging and motions his head down the end of the hall.

TOMMY: "Maybe. I'm not sure. But we'd better keep it down."

Ethan keeps digging and turns his head, seeing GUARD #3 walk by with a club in his hands. The Guard nudges the club on the back of a man digging with his shovel.

GUARD #3: "Speed it up, humans! There're plenty of walls and ground left to check!"

The Guard walks off, just as Katherine walks back into the room. She pushes a wheelbarrow down the room and stops beside some men near a pile of large rocks and stones.

KAT: "I'm back for the next load."

The men pick up the rocks, one at a time, and puts them in the wheelbarrow. Once the wheelbarrow is filled, Kat turns the wheelbarrow around.

KAT: "I'll be back."

Katherine strains as she pushes the heavy wheelbarrow down the hall, going out one of the tunnels. Tommy pauses and watches Kat leave. Tommy shakes his head and resumes digging, clearly upset.

TOMMY: "All this work over two giant evil robots. They've gotta be very powerful and dangerous to have this guy go to three different planets just to piece them back together."

ETHAN: "But when he does, he'll try to take over the world. Even if we do go back home, Domminnous will try and conquer Earth to make everyone do his bidding."

Tommy looks around, not seeing any guards, and resumes shoveling.

TOMMY: "Don't worry about it, Ethan. He doesn't have them yet. I just hope he doesn't any time soon."

* * *

Back in the Castle's throne room, Domminnous sits on his throne, with an IV hooked into his arm. Goldar stands in the room beside the throne.

GOLDAR: "Finster's making the next batch of serum for you, Lord Domminnous."

DOMMINNOUS: "Good. I feel strong again already. This atmosphere has weakened my powers so much already. Using those fireballs earlier took a toll on my health, but it made it clear to those slaves not to defy me -"

Domminnous suddenly stops and he flinches from a sudden burst of pain inside. He twitches a moment and he shuts his eyes tight.

GOLDAR: "Another spasm, my lord?"

DOMMINNOUS: (grunts) "It will pass. They always do."

Domminnous looks at the IV, as the last of the green goo-like fluid goes out of the bag and into his arm.

DOMMINNOUS: "It was wise of my captors to hide these parts here. They knew I'd be weakened and drained, but not without some power still within me."

Domminnous removes the IV tube from his arm and he sneers.

DOMMINNOUS: "When I leave this planet and my powers are fully recharged, we can continue our conquest."

* * *

In the laboratory of the Castle, the white-skinned FINSTER sits at a table, wearing a blue outfit and glasses. Finster mixes a bowl of the green serum with a spoon, as Rita and Zedd stand before the table and look on.

FINSTER: "The next batch of serum is almost ready."

RITA: "And the sample you found on this planet and analyzed. Is the clay you found strong enough or not?"

FINSTER: "It's not, my queen. There's just not anymore clay left to make more Putty Patrollers. I was fortunate enough to get the small supply from the last planet. And there is no clay like this on the entire planet to make more. At least, not until we leave with Lord Domminnous. When we leave Drynnix, Lord Zedd's ability to create Z-Putties with his staff will be restored. And with Domminnous' Guards, we should be fine until we find some more clay."

ZEDD: "This clay of yours is getting harder to find, Finster. Most of it was mutated or destroyed after Zordon's energy wave."

FINSTER: "Yes, my lord. But I'm quite certain we should be able to find a suitable replacement when we leave."

RITA: "You sound like we'll be taking off tomorrow, Finster! Those humans have an entire planet to search for those Zord parts! And with those blasted invisible energy barriers within the caves, none of us can even touch them! We're not leaving here anytime soon!"

Zedd turns to Rita and he sets his hand down on her shoulder.

ZEDD: "Don't sound too upset, Rita. We can at least relish in knowing five of our hated enemies are forced to dig for us until we find those parts... and we can make their stay here miserable until we can leave."

RITA: "Oh, Zeddy. I knew I married you for a reason."

Zedd lets out a low growl and he turns around to Finster.

ZEDD: "We'll be back later, Finster. Rita and I have some work to finish."

Rita and Zedd turn around and walk to the exit doors.

* * *

That night, at the mining camp's cabins, Tommy walks in line behind Katherine, with other people walking before and behind them. Kimberly walks before Jason and Zack in another line and Kimberly looks to her left at a cabin. Kimberly sees a BLONDE LADY walk to the cabin and she knocks on the door. The cabin door is opened by a guard and the blonde lady walks inside. Kimberly looks at the open doorway and sees the lady sit on a bed beside a blonde GIRL. Kimberly looks on sadly.

KIMBERLY: "Seeing your kids as a reward for being a hard working slave. This is horrible."

JASON: "Don't worry, Kim. Domminnous and the others will pay for this."

Jason turns and sees another line to a cabin, as Ethan walks inside and follows other people into their cabin. Two more men walk inside of the cabin, resulting in sixteen occupants in all, and the Guard shuts the door behind them, locking it shut. Kimberly follows the other people before her into her own cabin, with Jason and Zack following her in. A Guard walks over and shuts the door behind them.

Within the fifth cabin, Jason turns around to the doorway, as he hears it lock shut. Jason turns back to Kimberly, as she finds a bed and sits on it. Jason and Zack look around at the other thirteen people in the cabin.

KIMBERLY: "It's one big bedroom."

Zack looks at the side walls, noticing two dressers standing before the walls.

ZACK: "Two bathrooms, no closets, two dressers of clothes for everybody here and no privacy. It's like the summer camp cabin from hell."

Kimberly looks out of the barred window and sees the full silver moon shine in the sky. Behind the moon is another moon in the distance. Kimberly sadly smiles at the view for a moment. She might've been able to enjoy how lovely the dual moon sky looked if she hadn't been held as a slave on a planet in some distant galaxy. Kimberly looks at another cabin and she sees Tommy and Kat walk inside.

KIMBERLY: "That looks like the last line going in."

JASON: "I think we should get some rest. We're going to need it."

Jason walks to Kimberly and holds her hand.

JASON: "Good night, Kim."

KIMBERLY: "Good night."

Kimberly smiles and kisses Jason. After the kiss, Jason lets go of her hand and walks over to a nearby vacant bed. Jason sits down on the bed and looks over at Kimberly, as she lies on her own bed next to his. Jason turns and sees Zack get on his own bed on the other side of the room.

ZACK: "Good night, guys."

JASON: "Good night, Zack."

Zack takes off his shoes and then he looks over at the other people lying down on their beds in the large room. Zack looks away and lowers his head. Zack lies down on his bed, pulls his blanket up over his body and turns onto his side.


	5. Chapter 5

Six days have past since Domminnous had taken the people of Angel Grove to Drynnix. Back on Earth, early in the morning inside TV Studio 6, a mid-30s, blonde reporter - HELEN MARSDEN - sits at the desk of the large Angel Grove News stage.

HELEN: "This is Helen Marsden of Angel Grove Channel Nine News. It has been six days since the sudden energy wave appeared in the city and caused the disappearance of over two hundred men, one hundred women and sixty eight children."

* * *

In an underground chamber, a man in a purple robe and hood stands in the chamber, which is made of crystal-like walls, metallic tiles over the floor and large entry/exit doors. Helen is seen on a large oval-shaped screen, while the man's face is not seen.

HELEN: "It remains unknown what made the energy wave appear or what has happened to the missing citizens. Residents of Angel Grove are also fearful of the possibility of the sudden energy wave returning."

The man walks over to the control stand underneath the screen and pushes a button. The screen turns off and the man pushes another button on the controls. The doors slide open and the man turns around, walking through the open doorway to the next room.

* * *

The man walks through the doorway to a large generator room, with several large poles standing in the room and connected to the ceiling. Rings are around each pole, shining with white light. The doors slide closed, as the man turns to his left. The man walks to a large storage center of machinery parts, including various generators, pistons, tubes and flat oval-shaped platforms. The man notices a shadow of a body on one of the generators and turns around. The robed man looks at his unseen guest.

MAN IN ROBE: "You found the equipment. You were fortunate you found that energy transmission on the controls. We must build the machine."

The man walks over to a nearby table and stands before it, lowering his head to see a small, but wide metal box set down on it.

MAN IN ROBE: "They'll need all the help they can get."

* * *

At noon, in the caverns on Drynnix, Zack walks through one of the tunnels, in a tank top, pants and sneakers. Zack is dirty, sweating and visibly tired, but he still keeps pushing an empty wheelbarrow down into a dimly lit cavern.

ZACK: (grunts) "Well, I'll say one thing. This is definitely not how I imagined celebrating my birthday."

Zack pushes the wheelbarrow down the tunnel and into a large area of the cave, seeing several men and women shoveling in the ground. Jason stands in one of the larger holes, shirtless and taking another dig into the ground with his shovel. Zack wheels down the room and stops the wheelbarrow beside a bearded man, HANK. Hank is digging into the wall with some tools.

ZACK: "I'm back, Hank."

HANK: "Just in time for the next load. Let me give you a hand loading that."

Hank sets down his tools, as he helps Zack load several broken heavy stones and jagged rocks from the side wall into the wheelbarrow. Two Guards holding clubs walk into the tunnel.

GUARD #3: "All right, everyone. That's enough for now. Lunch break."

Zack stops loading the wheelbarrow and he rubs the back of his neck, as the workers stop and set down their shovels and digging tools.

ZACK: "Ah, another helping of bread and gruel. Well, we'd better eat up while it's still lumpy."

Hank grins and shakes his head, as Jason sets down his shovel in the ground. Jason follows the other workers out of the large hole in the floor and he is the last to get out. An energy whip suddenly lashes out from behind and it wraps around Jason's ankles. The whip is pulled and Jason trips, falling back down into the hole. Jason lands hard on his front and Zack looks at Goldar, standing before the hole and holding the energy whip.

GOLDAR: "Going somewhere, slave?"

The workers stop and they look over at Goldar in shock. Jason gets on all fours, as Goldar pushes a button on the handle of the whip. The whip unwraps from Jason's ankles and the extended lash retracts back up to its normal length.

GOLDAR: "Domminnous wants to have some of you put in extra hours in the work, meaning no breaks." (grins) "Starting with this one."

Jason sneers and he grabs the shovel, while Zack walks to Goldar.

ZACK: "Hey, you can't do that! Leave him alone!"

Guard #4 stands before Zack and he aims his club up at him.

GUARD #4: "Get in line!"

Goldar smiles and he turns to the Guard.

GOLDAR: "No, leave him alone. Let's let him stay and keep his friend company. Besides, having two slaves having extra hours is a better idea."

HANK: "Zack, don't -"

ZACK: (interrupts) "Hank, stop right there and get in line. Please."

Hank looks at Goldar and the armed Guard. Hank nods and walks off.

GOLDAR: "Now, then, get your own shovel and get to work!"

Zack climbs down into the hole and gets next to Jason, as he wipes the dirt off his chest. Zack picks up a shovel and digs with Jason. At an open tunnel nearby, Ethan walks by, following other workers in a line. Ethan looks at the room, seeing Jason and Zack dig. Ethan eyes Goldar in surprise, but then he resumes walking ahead in line.

* * *

In the cafeteria cabin of the mining camp, Ethan sits down at a table for four. Kimberly, Tommy and Kat are seated in three of the seats at a table for four. Ethan walks over to their table, with a tray of food in his hands, and he sits in the vacant seat. He sets down his own tray, with a bowl of white pudding-like gruel, two slices of bread and a glass of water. Kimberly sets her spoon down into her bowl of gruel and looks around the room, noticing the other workers seated at tables. Kimberly sees two vacant seats at a table for eight and she notices the absence of Zack and Jason in the cafeteria.

KIMBERLY: "Strange. Where are Jason and Zack?"

ETHAN: "I saw them at the caverns. They're still working."

TOMMY: "What? Why?"

ETHAN: "I don't know. I saw some kind of blue-skinned thing in golden armor watching them like a guard."

Kimberly, Tommy and Katherine look over at Ethan in shock.

KIMBERLY: "Goldar!"

Ethan looks at them, puzzled.

ETHAN: "You know him?"

KIMBERLY: "He was one of Domminnous' partners we saw in the castle. He was also an enemy of the original Power Rangers."

ETHAN: "Wait. That's the same Goldar from Rita's army all those years ago? But why would he want to pick on Jason and Zack?"

Kimberly just shrugs. She couldn't exactly tell Ethan just how well they _really_ knew Goldar.

KIMBERLY: "I don't know. But whatever it is, it can't be good."

ETHAN: "None of this is good. It's all rather strange, though. Everyone else is scared stiff over these guards and monsters, but you're all the calmest ones here."

TOMMY: "I'm not sure what to say. I guess we're just a bit more used to it. We've seen a lot of strange things over the years while we were growing up in Angel Grove."

ETHAN: "True, but with all the monsters, giants and property damage from those attacks, I'm surprised any of you have lived there for as long as you have."

Kat looks out of the window, hearing a distant, low growling noise. Everyone in the cafeteria hears the sound and they look a little unnerved. Tommy turns around and looks out of the window.

KAT: "What was that?"

TOMMY: "I'm not sure. I've never heard anything like that."


	6. Chapter 6

A short time later, outside of the enormous cafeteria cabin, the workers walk away in three long lines away from the cabin. Ethan follows after Tommy in the back of one line, with three Guards and two Putties watching them walk out. Ethan and Tommy stop as they hear a low growl and they turn around to the left. Guard #4 walks to Ethan and holds up his trident staff.

GUARD #4: "Hey, you two! Get moving!"

Tommy's eyes suddenly go wide with shock and he points behind the Guard.

TOMMY: "Look out!"

Guard #4 turns around and he sees a large PIGBULL - a hog-like beast the size of a dog, with sharp teeth, red eyes and a coat of fur down its back - leaping at him. The pigbull knocks into Guard #4's gut and the impact shoves them down to the floor. The pigbull bites at the Guard's face, but he blocks it with his staff. The pigbull bites onto the staff as it lunges for the Guard. The pigbull growls as it tries to bite the guard. Ethan just stares, so surprised by what he's seeing he can do little else. Tommy turns around and he shoves Ethan away, just as a second pigbull leaps at them. The pigbull misses Ethan at the last second and the animal hits the floor, as the workers stop walking and eye the pigbulls in shock. Kimberly and Katherine step out of line and run to them.

KAT: "Oh, no! Tommy, hold on!"

The two Putties run to them and they block the two ladies' way to Tommy and Ethan. They look on, as the second pigbull turns and looks at Tommy. Tommy steps back, as the second pigbull approaches him and the pigbull growls.

ETHAN: "Tommy, be careful!"

Guard #4 finally shoves the first pigbull away with his staff and jabs at it. The ends of the trident staff hits the pigbull's back and it quickly scrambles back as it squeals in pain. The first pigbull sneers and leaps again. Guard #4 ducks and the pigbull misses. The first pigbull a few feet before Ethan. The pigbull looks at Ethan and the animal bares its sharp canine teeth at him.

ETHAN: "Oh, great."

The first and second Guards get out of the cave and to the workers.

GUARD #1: "All right, slaves! Everyone get back inside!"

The workers nervously get inside, trying to ignore the events behind them. The pigbull steps to Ethan and Ethan steps back slowly from it. The first Guard walks to Kimberly and grabs her arm, while the second Guard grabs Katherine's arm.

GUARD #1: "You two! Back inside! The other guards will take care of these mangy beasts!"

Kimberly and Katherine look on nervously at them, as the Guards drag the two women into the cave.

KAT: "Tommy!"

The two women get inside and the Putties turn around, looking at the pigbull approaching Ethan. The pigbull leaps at Ethan and he kicks his left foot high, hitting the pigbull right between the eyes. The kick shoves the pigbull away and it lands on its back to the floor. The first pigbull approaches Tommy and finally leaps. He jumps at it and kicks his left leg out, his foot kicking the pigbull on the face. The pigbull is knocked down and Tommy lands crouched. He turns around as the pigbull gets up and bites at him. Tommy quickly moves back and the pigbull leaps at him again. Tommy ducks and lies on his back on the floor, under the pigbull leaping over him. While the pigbull is in its jump, Tommy kicks his foot up and hits it in the gut. The kick sends the pigbull flying away.

Meanwhile, the second pigbull leaps and bites its teeth into his left shoulder. Ethan grunts in pain, doing his best not to scream. Tommy turns around and notices the other pigbull biting Ethan's shoulder.

TOMMY: (calls out) "Ethan! Hold on!"

Tommy gets to his feet, as the pigbull knocks Ethan down to the floor. Ethan lies on his back and struggles, as the pigbull bites into his shoulder and draws blood. Ethan gives a pained grunt and he quickly jabs his right fist onto its face. The pigbull is knocked off of Ethan and hits the floor. Ethan holds his wounded shoulder with his hand, as he scrambles to his feet and looks over at Tommy. The other pigbull is charging at Tommy from behind.

ETHAN: "Duck, Tommy!"

The pigbull leaps at Tommy from behind and he ducks under the pigbull. The pigbull leaps over him and at the third Guard, just as he stabs his trident ahead at the leaping pigbull. Ethan turns his head aside just before the impact, hearing a sickening squish. Ethan hears a distant thud and looks at the third Guard, which stands over the fallen pigbull. The pigbull is seen from behind, with blood oozing from the three stab wounds in its head. Ethan turns around, as the second pigbull gets up and turns to face him. The fourth Guard stands behind the second pigbull and stabs its trident into its back. The pigbull squeals in pain from the fatal strike. Ethan turns around, as the Guard pulls out the trident from the pigbull and it hits the floor, dead with blood oozing down its back. Ethan falls to his knees, holding his shoulder with blood trickling from the wide bite marks dug into his skin. Tommy goes to Ethan, but Guard #4 stands before him and aims his trident a few feet before his chest.

GUARD #4: "We'll get him treated. Get back to work."

Tommy looks at Ethan and then he walks off to the cave.

* * *

That afternoon, in the medical cabin, Ethan sits on a bed in the cabin, where Guard #7 stands behind him. Ethan's shirt is removed and set over a nearby chair, while the Guard cleans his shoulder with a wet rag. Ethan winces in pain and looks over at the Guard.

ETHAN: "What were those that things that attacked us?"

GUARD #7: "Those are pigbulls. They hunt the lands for food and are tough enough to knock through wooden doors."

ETHAN: "I thought this planet was deserted."

GUARD #7: "It is, in terms of intelligent beings. Only a few animals and insects populate Drynnix."

Ethan winces, as the Guard cleans his shoulder with the rag. Ethan sees a clear, goo-like fluid dripping from the rag onto his wound.

ETHAN: "And that fluid?"

GUARD #7: "Brollox elixir. This medicine prevents infections and heals injuries quicker. After all, the quicker that you heal, the quicker you get back to work in the caves."

Ethan sneers, as the Guard takes the rag off his shoulder and sets it down in a bowl of water. Guard #7 grabs the bandages from the table and wraps it over Ethan's wounded shoulder.

* * *

In the throne room of the Royal Castle, Domminnous is seated on his throne, a bit pale. He turns to face Goldar as he walks into the room.

DOMMINNOUS: "I heard that you were in the caves today."

GOLDAR: "Just making sure some of those power brats sped up the search for the Dark Zord parts, my lord. No breaks, no slacking off and all work, just like you had ordered."

DOMMINNOUS: "Working them without breaks and meals. Sounds fair. I don't think a few extra hours would hurt these humans too much."

GOLDAR: "Of course not, my lord. Hurting them is my job."

Domminnous grins and he nods. Domminnous rises from his throne and he walks to the doors.

DOMMINNOUS: "Come. The others are busy in the assembly room below. Let's see the progress they've made."

* * *

In the fifth cabin of the mining camp, is Kimberly seated on her bed, looking around at the other people in the cabin. Kimberly walks over to her friend ANDREA - 28 years old with short blonde hair. Andrea is dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, both of which are stained with dirt.

KIMBERLY: "Andrea, have you seen Jason or Zack yet?"

ANDREA: "No, I'm sorry. I didn't see them in the line."

The door unlocks from the outside and opens. Kimberly turns and sees Zack walk in with Jason, with Jason's arm around him. Jason is wearing a dark blue shirt, while a dried gash is on his forehead and two dried cuts are on his ankles.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, no!"

ZACK: "Easy, man. Easy. Sit down."

Kimberly runs over to Jason as Zack helps him sit down on the bed. Kimberly crouches before Jason.

KIMBERLY: "What happened?"

ZACK: "Goldar had us working through breaks and he supervised over us working in the caves."

Kimberly looks at Jason in concern, noticing the blood stains on his shirt over his left shoulder. Kimberly stands up and sees more blood stains on the back of his shirt.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, God."

She tried to get a better look at his back, but Jason gently puts his hand on her shoulder and gives her a reassuring smile.

JASON: "It's just a few scratches."

ZACK: "Goldar got a little rough with us with the energy whip to get us to work harder. He gave the Guards orders not to treat us."

Zack sits down beside him, as Kimberly notices Zack's own dried thin cuts on his left arm, with the skin around his cuts mildly singed.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, Zack."

ZACK: "It's nothing. Jase got most of the hits and kept getting in front of me to keep me safe."

JASON: (grunts) "Consider it a birthday gift."

ZACK: "Don't tease, Jason. Things are getting much stricter around here and it's only gonna get worse."

JASON: "We did our extra time for the day, Zack. We're both tired. I suggest that we go to bed and get as much rest as we can, okay?"

Zack looks at Jason for a moment and he heaves a sigh.

ZACK: "Fine. But Goldar's not getting away with this."

Zack walks away and to his bed, lying on his right side. Jason turns around and looks at the other startled people in the room, staring at them.

JASON: "It's okay. We're both fine. Let's all go to bed and get some sleep, okay?"

The people look on nervously and get to their own beds. Jason looks away and at Kimberly. Jason smiles at her and holds her hand.

JASON: "I'll be fine. Honest. Try and get some sleep, okay?"

Kimberly stares at Jason a moment in concern. She knew he wasn't fine, but she knew he didn't want to get anyone else more upset and scared than they already were. Kimberly sadly nods and stands up, walking to her bed. Jason lies on his side on the bed, facing away. Kimberly sits on her bed and turns to Jason. She stares at Jason as she gets her first good glimpse of his back and she sees a dozen stains of blood through the back of his shirt. Kimberly lowers her head and she puts her hand over her mouth, fighting back tears. Kimberly turns away and she lies on her side on her bed, pulling her blanket up over her.


	7. Chapter 7

In the chamber's generator room, the man in the robe kneels before the machinery parts. Two of the generators are connected together side by side, with two of the pistons attached to the top of the generators from two large poles standing behind them. The man attaches the first tube to the flat generator set behind the poles and locks it in place.

VOICE: "It's very late. You should get some rest."

The man turns around, his face not seen, as he sees the shadowy figure across the room.

MAN IN ROBE: "I appreciate the concern, but I do not need rest anymore. Besides, I cannot stop working now. Not when they need our help."

VOICE: "At least let me give you a hand. I do have some time until I need to make the next batch of serum."

The man turns around to the partly-assembled machine and then to the shadowy figure.

MAN IN ROBE: "Very well, then. I'll get you some tools." (pauses) "Thank you, old friend."

VOICE: "Don't mention it."

The man in the robe stands up and he picks up a wrench from the floor.

* * *

That morning, in the Royal Castle's enormous, wide assembly room, many large cranes and several tall generators stand on its dark floor. Standing by one of the large generators is RITO REVOLTO. The right side of the skeleton warrior's body is white, while the left is camouflaged. Rito's voice has changed slightly, a bit deeper than before. A bony sword is sheathed on his back. Rito walks down the room to a table, carrying a large drill in his hands, while Rita and Zedd stand at the side wall keeping watch.

RITO REVOLTO walks down the room to Finster's table, carrying a large drill in his hands, while Rita and Zedd stand at the side wall keeping watch.

RITO: "Aw, come on! Say I'm almost done in the castle, sis! I've been waiting to go mess with those ex-Rangers!"

RITA: "You're almost done with the last of the tools, Rito, and then you can go. You were lucky Domminnous was able to revive you, as well."

RITO: "Not only that, he beefed up my powers and also made me smarter than I was before."

ZEDD: "Which explains your newfound ability to actually become useful in our new plans of conquest."

RITO: "Hey, I've been useful before! I helped your group of monsters destroy the Rangers' old Power Coins and their Thunderzords, remember? Besides, I'm just as anxious to get to the site and pick on those pests as you, Ed!"

Zedd growls and he shakes his head.

ZEDD: "Even after being revived by the power of the Elivoss stone, your new three functional brain cells still can't generate enough power for you to get my name right!"

Walking down the room to Rito is SCORPINA - looking mid-30s and Asian-looking. She is dressed in her usual uniform as before and wields her boomerang sword in her unarmored right hand.

SCORPINA: "All we have to do now is wait, until the last remaining parts of the ship are found."

The doors to the room slide open and Domminnous walks in, holding his staff in his hands.

DOMMINNOUS: "Well, I see you two have completed your work. Your shifts in here seem to be over."

RITO: "Hey, that was just what I was telling my sister and old Ed here, Domminnous!"

Zedd growls in annoyance at Rito as the doors to the room slide closed. Domminnous turns to the left side of the room. Domminnous stares for a moment at the Zord parts with an evil smile.

DOMMINNOUS: "After all this time and hard work, they're almost whole again. It won't be long now."

Placed at the far side wall are two large, oval-shaped black robot bodies. Both of the bodies are two hundred feet tall and two hundred feet wide. A black robotic head, one hundred feet tall and wide each, is attached to the top end of each body. The limbs on the sides of the first body are missing, while the limbs on the back and bottom end of the second robot's body are missing. The first Zord's head has thin green eyes, while the head of the second Zord has red eyes.

DOMMINNOUS: "We have just five more limbs to find and then the Dark Power Zords will at last be completed!"

Just then, two familiar henchmen enter the room - the vampire-bat creature BABOO and the blue-skinned SQUATT, who is clad in his usual attire. The duo are carrying moving boxes in their hands that are filled with tools and supplies.

SQUATT: "The Power Rangers?!"

BABOO: "Ooh! Ooh! Can we go too? We want to torment the Power Rangers, too!"

Zedd groans and rubs his head. It was bad enough for him to have to deal with Rito's incompetence.

ZEDD: "Why did the Elivoss stone have enough power to revive these two bumbling morons?"

BABOO: "We're not morons!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, and I don't bumble as much as I used to since we came back! See?"

Squatt takes a step back, but he bumps into a table and knocks over two moving boxes set on them. Equipment spills out of the box all over the floor.

BABOO: "Oh, now look what you've done!"

SQUATT: "Well, at least I didn't cause too big of a mess this time to -"

While talking, Squatt steps aside and he steps on Baboo's right foot. Baboo gives a pained cry as he stumbles back onto another table and he drops his moving box, spilling tools and wires onto the floor.

BABOO: "Hey, watch it, Squatt! That hurt!"

RITA: "Oh, shut up, you nitwits!"

DOMMINNOUS: "Just pick up those tools and stay out of trouble."

Baboo nods as he grabs the moving box from the floor.

BABOO: "Yes, Lord Domminnous. Gimmie a hand, Squatt."

Baboo and Squatt crouch and they start picking up the tools. Domminnous turns around to face Rito and Scorpina.

DOMMINNOUS: "Now, then, I believe there are some Rangers for you two to pick on."

Scorpina grins and nods. She turns and walks out of the room, with Rito quickly following of the room.

RITO: "Hey, wait for me!"

* * *

In a lower level of the caverns, Tommy and Kat stand in one of the larger holes dug in the ground. Tommy and Kat are both wearing tank tops and pants. The two dig into the ground with their shovels, as two Guards watch over them. Three Guards stand watch in the room, keeping an eye on the other workers digging in the ground.

KAT: "You've been quiet since breakfast. Are you okay?"

TOMMY: "After what happened to Zack and Jason, I'd love to dig this shovel into Goldar."

KAT: "I know. But you've got to calm down, Tommy. We're in this until we find those parts."

TOMMY: (sighs) "Yeah, and then Domminnous lets us go home just so we can see him conquer it. We've got to find some way to stop this guy."

KAT: "But we can't. Even if we did try, someone else would get hurt. Now, come on. Let's keep digging.

Tommy nods and digs his shovel into the ground. Scorpina and Rito enter the room and stand beside the two Guards watching over them.

SCORPINA: "Go down the hall. We'll watch over these two."

Tommy and Kat look up from the hole, as Rito folds his arms over his chest. Tommy and Kat look at them in shock as the Guards leave.

KAT: "Rito?"

TOMMY: "Scorpina? Aw, man! Domminnous brought you guys back, too?"

RITO: "Didja miss us? It's been a long time, pest."

TOMMY: "I take it that you're the new guards looking over us."

Scorpina grins and she holds up her trident.

SCORPINA: "We've been looking forward to this."

Tommy eyes her firmly and stands his ground, just as...

HANK (calls out): "Hey! Over here!"

Scorpina and Rito turn around to one of the holes in the ground. Tommy and Kat turn around, as Jessica stands up from one of the holes in the floor.

JESSICA: "We've found one of the parts!"

Tommy and Kat glance at one another nervously, as Rito and Scorpina walk to the other large hole dug into the ground. Hank, Jessica and three other civilians stand in the enormous hole they dug.

RITO: "Well, what did you find?"

Rito and Scorpina look down and see the tips of four large, claw-like silver robot legs are uncovered from the dirt.

JESSICA: "I'm not sure. It looks like a pair of legs."

SCORPINA: "The first pair of the Zord's legs has been found!"

HANK: "Just what kind of a Zord is it?"

RITO: "Wouldn't YOU like to know? Heh heh!"

Scorpina turns to one of the Guards standing nearby.

SCORPINA: "Have it ready to be sent down to the castle."

The Guard nods and he turns around to leave. Kat and Tommy look down at the pair of Zord legs that are mostly buried in the ground. Just what kind of Zord was this?

* * *

In another part of the caverns, Ethan stands in a large hole dug in the ground. Zack stands with him, both shoveling dirt away. Two Guards stand watch nearby over other workers down the room. Zack's shirt and pants each have small rips and tears in various locations.

ETHAN: "I heard about what happened. Are you both all right?"

ZACK: "We'll be fine, but Jase took most of the hits."

Ethan looks down the room and sees Jason pushing a wheelbarrow full of dirt out through a tunnel. Jason is wearing a tank top and pants, both of which are heavily stained with dirt. Parts of Jason's tank top and pants also have small rips and tears on various locations. Ethan notices some of the visible, various dried welts on Jason's back.

ETHAN: "So I see. What happened to his clothes?" (looks at Zack) "And to yours?"

ZACK: "Nothing. Goldar thought since we were being treated as slaves, we should look the part too, I guess."

Zack briefly glances at Ethan and he notices his puzzled look.

ZACK: "What's on your mind, Ethan?"

ETHAN: "For starters, why don't you tell me what is really going on here?"

Zack turns to Ethan, just as puzzled.

ZACK: "I'm not sure what you mean, man."

ETHAN: "There's more to this than any of you are telling me. You obviously knew of these things before, more than just seeing footage of their past attacks. And then all of a sudden, this Goldar character just happens to personally guard over you and Jason and beat on you both while you're digging in the caves?"

Zack notices that Goldar is in a tunnel nearby and he is walking towards them.

ZACK: "I think you'd better save your various questions for when we're done working, Ethan. Especially if you don't want to get beaten yourself for chatting."

Goldar walks out of the wide tunnel, holding a trident in his hands. Goldar stops at the hole in the floor and looks down at Ethan and Zack.

GOLDAR: "And just what are you two talking about?"

Ethan digs his shovel into the ground and hears a thudding noise. Ethan pauses and eyes the floor in confusion. Goldar looks at the ground Ethan and Zack are standing on and grins.

ETHAN: "I've just hit something."

ZACK: "Oh, no."

GOLDAR: "Yes! Keep digging!"

Ethan and Zack dig away at the dirt over the long silver thing appearing from underground. Zack and Ethan continue to dig, moving dirt off the thing and tossing it aside. Ethan scoops off some more dirt with his shovel and stops as he eyes the ground. Ethan notices the silver-tinted thing before their feet, peering from under the dirt ground. The long silver object is of a giant wing, resembling an insect wing.

GOLDAR: "Excellent! The first wing has been found! The other wing must be nearby! Keep digging and get it out of the ground!"

ZACK: "Isn't that what we're doing now?"

Goldar sneers and aims his trident at Zack. Ethan quickly walks to Zack and stands between him and the trident's end.

ETHAN: "What he means is that we'll get it out as soon as possible, but we could use some help digging this thing out. After all, the sooner that we get it out, the sooner you can finish piecing these Zord things back together, right?"

Goldar sneers at Ethan and hits his chest with the trident. Ethan grunts as he hits the ground and he drops his shovel.

ZACK: "Ethan!"

Zack quickly goes to Ethan and crouches beside him.

GOLDAR: "Keep working until they get here."

Goldar turns and walks off to another large hole dug in the ground. Zack offers his hand down to Ethan, but he just scoffs in response. Ethan picks up his shovel, stands up and continues to dig.

ETHAN: "You heard him. Get moving."

Zack shakes his head and he picks up his shovel. He knew Ethan wanted to know what was going on. But right now, the less Ethan knew, the safer he was.

* * *

Back in the generator room of an underground chamber, the man in the robe stands before the machine, which is now halfway finished. Various tubes and pistons have been attached to the machine, with six flat circular platforms laying on the floor and hooked up to the front of the machine. The man in the robe is attaching another tube to the back of the machine. The doors slide open and IONISOS - bald and early-30s looking - enters the room, wearing a blue cloak with a hood over his black leather uniform. Ionisos stands before the machine, holding a box in his hands.

IONISOS: "Forgive me for being so late."

MAN IN ROBE: "Don't apologize. I'm grateful for your help."

IONISOS: "Anytime. I'm always glad to help out an old friend."

Ionisos looks on, as the robed man walks to the back of the machine and slides a generator back to the pipes. The man in the robe connects the generator against the pipe and locks it in place.

IONISOS: "The others are upstairs, making the last of the serum."

MAN IN ROBE: "Are they finished?"

IONISOS: "I've just completed them. When they're used, they'll be far more powerful than they were before."

MAN IN ROBE: "Excellent. They'll need all the help and protection they can get. Especially now."

Ionisos looks at the man in the robe in concern.

IONISOS: "You feel guilty about asking this of them, don't you?"

The man in the robe stops moving and he lowers his head.

MAN IN ROBE: "It's been so many years."

IONISOS: "But they have the experience."

MAN IN ROBE: "They're also adults now. They have their own lives."

IONISOS: "They're well aware of the risks. I'm sure that they'd agree."

MAN IN ROBE: "What I'd be asking them to do would put a big responsibility on their shoulders, to change their lives drastically... again."

IONISOS: "Their lives have already changed drastically. We both know they are the only ones we can turn to for this. They've been there for you before."

MAN IN ROBE: "I know. I know that this is the only way for them to defeat Domminnous. But it's not just them. All of you will have your own drastic change to make, too."

IONISOS: "We knew what would happen to us when we agreed, my friend. We're still keeping our word. Now, tell me, how is the construction of the machine coming along?"

MAN IN ROBE: "It's halfway done, but there is a lot of work yet to do before we can use it."

Ionisos sets down the box on a nearby table and puts his hand on the man's shoulder. The man lowers his head, his face still not seen.

IONISOS: "I'm sorry. I can only imagine how upset you must be. They've been working on the planet for three weeks now and we're only halfway done with our machine to help them."

The man turns his head around to look at Ionisos, still not showing his face.

MAN IN ROBE: "I care for them so much. They're more than just my friends. They're like family to me."

IONISOS: "And you'll see them again soon. You've never let them down before and I know that you're certainly not about to start now."

Ionisos stands beside the man in the robe and he puts his hand on the man's shoulder.

IONISOS: "We'll help your friends and we'll find a way to stop Domminnous." (pauses) "I promise you that."

Ionisos smiles and walks to the back of the machine, towards the tool kit.

IONISOS: "Now, we've still got to finish building this. Would you mind if I gave you a hand, my friend?"

MAN IN ROBE: "Not at all. Thank you."

Ionisos grabs one of the power generators and attaches it to the machine. Ionisos helps the robed man work on the machine.


	8. Chapter 8

That night, in the lower level of the caverns, the people shoveling and digging are dirty and look weaker due to their forced working hours. Kimberly stands shoveling away dirt in one of the enormous holes dug in the ground, wearing a black tank top, black shorts and black sneakers. Andrea stands near Kimberly in the hole in the floor, digging away dirt with her shovel. Two Putties stand in the large room, watching over the workers that are digging. Kimberly digs her shovel in the ground and moves the dirt away. Scorpina stands before a nearby wall and she looks on at them, noticing that Andrea is moving slower than Kimberly. Kimberly pauses a moment, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Kimberly notices that Andrea has stopped digging for a moment, clearly more tired and weaker than Kimberly.

KIMBERLY: (whispers) "Andrea, don't! Keep digging. Please. Just for a little longer."

Andrea looks to her left and she gasps in horror. Kimberly turns around and she is shocked when she sees Baboo and Squatt nearby.

KIMBERLY: "Baboo? Squatt? You guys are here, too?"

BABOO: "Empress Rita sent us to keep an eye on the slaves. You humans have sure had it now!"

SQUATT: "We've been waiting a long time for this, too!"

Andrea is shoveling slower than Kimberly, tiring.

SQUATT: "Hey, look! That lady's slowing down!"

BABOO: "Yeah, she doesn't look so good."

Scorpina sneers as she walks to Andrea.

SCORPINA: "Slowing down, I see. No breaks, you two!"

KIMBERLY: "Please. This is her third day straight without breaks. She needs to rest. She's tired and hungry."

SCORPINA: "She's getting back to work!"

Andrea nearly falls over, tired. Scorpina grabs her trident and holds it out to Andrea, but Kimberly stands in front of her.

KIMBERLY: "No! Please don't hurt her!"

SCORPINA: "Stand aside!"

BABOO: "Ooh, looks like Kimberly's gonna be the one in big trouble for interfering!"

SCORPINA: "Oh, shut up, monkey brain!"

Scorpina grabs Baboo by his face and she pushes him aside. Scorpina looks over at Andrea and then she smiles wickedly.

SCORPINA: "Maybe she's right. You should take a break. Baboo! Squatt! Take her friend aside to rest!"

BABOO: "You've got it."

Baboo and Squatt grab Andrea gently and walk with her. Kimberly smiles at Andrea, pleased to see her friend out of harm's way. Her relief is short-lived as Scorpina angrily points at Kimberly.

SCORPINA: "Putties! Hold that disobedient slave!"

Two Putties approach Kimberly from behind, they grab her by the arms and they turn her around so that her back is to Scorpina. Kimberly struggles in the Z-Putties' grip, while Andrea notices the Putties have got a hold on Kimberly.

ANDREA: "Kimberly! No!"

Scorpina grabs her energy whip from the holster on her belt and she unravels it. Kimberly looks over her shoulder and she glares at Scorpina. Scorpina smiles at Kimberly. Kimberly just looks straight ahead and she closes her eyes, bracing herself for what was about to happen next.

* * *

In the throne room of the Royal Castle, Domminnous sits on his throne, with a large IV bag of green serum hooked to his left wrist. Domminnous looks tired and pale, as the effects of the atmosphere has visibly affected his health further. Finster stands beside him, as Domminnous twitches.

DOMMINNOUS: "I see you increased the dosage."

FINSTER: "I had to. Your powers are fading more and more, the longer you stay here. This extra serum will keep your health stable."

Domminnous stops twitching, watching the last of the serum flow intp him.

DOMMINNOUS: (grunts) "I know. But those humans have already found three of the Zord parts. It shouldn't be too much longer before the others are found."

FINSTER: "Well, they must find them soon, my lord. I don't know how much longer the serum will sustain you."

Domminnous removes the IV from his arm and tosses it over to Finster, looking irritated.

DOMMINNOUS: "Stop worrying! As long as you're able to make the serum, I should be fine. I suggest that you get started on the next samples immediately."

FINSTER: "Yes, my lord."

Finster turns and walks out of the room, closing the doors behind him. Domminnous sits back in his throne, looking drained. Domminnous' left arm twitches and he opens his eyes. He looks down at his arm as his left hand begins to twitch. Domminnous shuts his eyes and grimaces from the pain.

* * *

In one of the large tunnels of the caverns, Tommy walks out into a hallway, pushing a wheelbarrow filled with dirt and rocks. Ethan walks down the other side of the hall and Tommy stops as he sees Ethan.

TOMMY: "Ethan, have you seen the others?"

Ethan stops pushing the wheelbarrow and looks at Tommy.

ETHAN: "Last I saw, Katherine's down in one of the tunnels digging with Zack. I'm going back to finish working with Jessica and Jason now."

TOMMY: "What about Kimberly? Where is she?"

ETHAN: "Scorpina's watching her. Kim and Andrea have been working extra all day with no breaks."

One of the Guards walks down the hall and taps his club on Ethan's back.

GUARD #5: "Go on! Get moving!"

Ethan nods and walks off, pushing the wheelbarrow. Guard #5 follows Ethan down the hall and Tommy shakes his head.

TOMMY: (sighs) "Oh, Kim."

Tommy pushes the wheelbarrow forward as he continues walking down the hallway.

* * *

Andrea sits on the ground by a nearby wall, exhausted, with two Putties blocking her way forward to Kimberly. Baboo and Squatt stands at either side of Andrea, keeping watch. Andrea weakly looks at Kimberly, who is mostly blocked from view. Andrea hears the sound of Scorpina's whip crack and she looks on sadly.

ANDREA: (weakly) "Kim...no..."

The Putties still have Kimberly held by her arms. She looks hurt, she is soaked with sweat and the back of her tank top is torn and tattered. Six diagonal whip slashes are already raised on her back, one slash is down her right shoulder, and two more slashes are raised across the back of her left arm, above her elbow. Scorpina still stands several feet behind Kimberly, holding her whip in her hand. Scorpina whips Kimberly's back, hard, and Kimberly moans as she writhes in the Z-Putties' grip. Kimberly lowers her head, panting and trying to keep conscious. She could feel the blood running down her back and smoke was rising from her fresh wound, but she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Scorpina sneers and she whips Kim's back again. Harder. Kimberly screams from the pain, nearly falling over, but the Putties holding her arms keep her on her feet. Scorpina smiles wickedly to herself. Hearing the Pink Ranger's scream was like sweet music to her ears. She quickly whips Kimberly again, smiling wider as Kimberly screams again, just as loudly as before. Scorpina flicks the whip again on Kimberly's back, making a bloody diagonal slash in her skin, and Kimberly gasps in response. Scorpina watches Kimberly with a smile, as Kimberly shuts her eyes and she is panting, trying to catch her breath. Scorpina looks at the Putties with a wicked smile.

SCORPINA: "Now she can dig."

The Putties drop Kimberly and she falls to the ground, landing on her stomach. Kimberly starts coughing and she lies weakly on the ground, barely able to move. Scorpina smiles at Kimberly, amused at the defeated Ranger lying before her.

SCORPINA: "That is, if she can do much more than _breathe_."

Kimberly tries to push herself up, moaning. She weakly collapses and she lands on her stomach on the ground. Scorpina looks at Kimberly with an amused grin and she chuckles. Kimberly lies still on the ground for a few moments, drenched in sweat and trying to catch her breath. Blood drips down from the nine slashes dug into Kim's sweat-soaked back. Kimberly coughs and she starts to calm down.

Scorpina's grin fades as Kimberly puts her hands on the floor. Kimberly winces as she slowly pushes herself up and she gets to all fours. Kimberly reaches out and grabs a shovel. Her legs shake as she tries to stand and she nearly falls, but she manages to use the shovel to regain her balance. Kimberly turns back to the area where she was digging and she resumes digging.

Scorpina, Baboo, Squatt, Andrea and the Putties watch as Kimberly continues digging. After a few moments, Kimberly stumbles, she drops the shovel and falls to all fours. Scorpina laughs at her, amused.

SCORPINA: "Getting tired?"

Kimberly turns her head and she looks over her left shoulder to see Scorpina behind her. She gives her a defiant sneer. She may have been hurt, but she sure wasn't about to give up now.

Scorpina glares at Kimberly and she quickly flicks the whip at her again. This time, Kimberly rolls out of the way with a surprising burst of speed and the lash of the whip cuts through the floor instead. But after rolling aside to dodge the whip, Kimberly quickly loses her balance. She falls over and she lands on her raw back on the ground. Kimberly shuts her eyes tight and she hisses in pain through gritted teeth. She winces as she sits up, blood running down her back and some is on the dirt floor from where she landed. Kimberly sets her hands down on the floor, but then she flinches as she just as quickly pulls her hands away. Kimberly rubs her hands and she looks down at the floor in confusion.

KIMBERLY: "It's cold."

Scorpina pauses and she eyes Kimberly in confusion. Kimberly moves the dirt beside her away with her hands, seeing a black object appear from under the dirt floor. Kim gets on her knees and she continues to dig the dirt away with her hands. After several seconds of moving the dirt away, Kimberly sees a pointed end of a large, black metal stinger. Scorpina looks at the metal stinger and she grins.

SCORPINA: "The stinger..."

Scorpina crouches and she lowers her hand to the dirt ground to touch it. When her hand gets a few inches from it, an electric spark from the invisible force field around the stinger hits Scorpina's palm. Scorpina flinches from the shock and she quickly pulls her hand back. Kimberly notices this and she looks at Scorpina, puzzled. Scorpina looks up out of the large hole in the ground and at the two Guards keeping watch near the tunnel.

SCORPINA: "We've found the stinger. Get more workers down here to come dig the stinger out!"

The Guards quickly turn and rush off down the room. Kimberly weakly gets up to her feet, tears forming in her eyes. Kimberly is breathing heavily, exhausted and hurt. Scorpina rubs her wounded hand and she grimaces. She around turns to Kimberly and Kim weakly looks at Scorpina with a defiant sneer. Scorpina gives her an amused grin.

SCORPINA: "Looks like you're not so useless after all."

Kimberly watches as Scorpina walks off, following Baboo and Squatt into the tunnel. Left alone with the guards and the other workers, Kimberly lowers her head and she heaves a sigh. She wanted to collapse. She was exhausted, dirty and her entire body was in pain. The fresh slashes didn't help her feel any better, either. But despite her current condition, Kimberly picked up her shovel from the ground and prepared to finish digging out the Zord stinger from the ground.

* * *

In the fifth cabin, a few hours later that night, Jason sits on his bed and he sadly stares at Kimberly as she lies asleep on her own bed. Zack stands beside Jason and they look at the dried slashes on Kimberly's back, arm and shoulder. The skin around her slashes has been mildly singed from the heat. Jason is doing his best to keep calm as he looks at his wounded girlfriend asleep in front of him.

ZACK: "How long has she been asleep?"

JASON: "Not long. She said Scorpina gave the guards orders only to stop the bleeding, but they didn't use any medicine to help her recover. Her burns aren't bad and should go away, but the slashes cut into her skin pretty deep."

ZACK: "And now, we just have to find one more of those robot wings before we can be transported back home. And when we do, we get squashed by the very things we helped dig out."

Jason looks back at Kimberly and stares at her. Kimberly's back flexes and Kimberly moans, wincing in pain in her sleep. Jason eyes the sleeping Kimberly in concern and he makes his hands into fists, trying his best not to look upset. After being whipped by Goldar himself, he knew exactly how Kimberly was feeling. But seeing the woman he loved in this kind of pain, that was much worse to Jason than what Goldar had done to him. Zack notices the look of protective anger on his old friend's face and he puts his hand on Jason's shoulder.

ZACK: "I know. I'd like to get them for what they've done, too. But for now, we'd better get some sleep."

Jason keeps his eyes on Kimberly, his firm look fading. He hated what had happened to Kimberly, but Zack had a point. Jason looks over at Zack.

JASON: (sighs) "Right. Good night, Zack."

Jason lies down on his bed, as Zack walks across the room and gets onto his bed.

* * *

The next morning, in one of the large rooms of the caverns, Tommy and Kat are digging into the ground with shovels. Tommy is wearing a dirty T-shirt and white pants, while Katherine wears a gray tank top and pink shorts. Katherine stops digging a moment and turns around. Kat watches Kimberly walk by, pushing a wheelbarrow of dirt into a hallway. Kimberly is wearing the same outfit as yesterday, but now she has on a pink racerback tank top over her torn black tank top.

KAT: "She looks so worn out, Tommy. I'm worried about her."

TOMMY: "We all are. I'm sure Jason's going crazy about not being able to help her."

Tommy looks over at Kat, as she resumes digging into the dirt ground.

KAT: "Do you think anyone is looking for us? I mean, surely the news of our abduction got someone's attention, right? The Astro Megaship? Or maybe Adam? You told me that Adam got his old Power Morpher back online."

TOMMY: "I don't know if anyone's looking for us, Kat. If Adam or Andros and the others on the Megaship had heard about it, they wouldn't know where to look. Nobody knows we're on Drynnix, remember? They'd be searching blind and I have no idea how far away from Earth we are."

Kat looks at Tommy as he resumes digging. He looks upset.

KAT: "You've been upset since we started working again. I take it you also heard about Kim's discovery yesterday?"

TOMMY: "Ethan told me. After all this time, we've only got one more Zord part left to find. I just wish I knew what kind of Zords we were digging up, so that we'd know what we'd be up against."

KAT: "We're going to find out soon enough. We've still got a lot more caverns left to check out until we find that last Zord part. But we've already found the first four parts so quickly..."

Kat pauses a moment and she turns her head aside.

KAT: "Oh, Tommy. What're we going to do?"

Tommy pauses and shakes his head. He'd been through a lot in his days as a Power Ranger, but they'd never been through anything like this before.

TOMMY: (sighs) "I wish I knew."

Tommy and Kat shovel more dirt away, while Mr. Andrews passes by, pushing a wheelbarrow full of dirt out of the room. Mr. Andrews walks into one of the tunnels, while two of the Guards look on nearby and they watch the workers dig. One of the Guards looks at another large hole dug in the ground, with four people digging in it. One of them is Winston, another is Zack and another is Jessica. Winston digs his shovel into the ground again and it makes a thudding sound as it hits the floor. Winston looks down and sees part of the other silver-tinted metal wing buried under the dirt.

ZACK: "Oh, no... That means..."

WINSTON: (calls out) "We've found it! We found the last Zord part!"

Tommy and Kat quickly scramble to get up out of the hole in the ground. After they get out, they walk to the other hole dug in the floor and they climb inside. Tommy and Kat watch as Winston and the other two workers dig in the ground. Zack looks on at the workers, as they shovel the dirt away. When they've finished, the workers stop digging and eye the upper half of the long, large metal wing in the ground. Rito walks down the room and stops, looking down at the workers and at the buried wing in the ground. Tommy and Kat grow pale and they exchange grim looks. Rito looks on at the Zord wing and he cackles with evil glee.

RITO: "Good work! Now dig the rest of that dirt off of it and let's get that wing out of here!"

Rito turns and he walks off down to one of the tunnels.


	9. Chapter 9

A short time later, in the throne room, Finster opens the door and walks into the room to Domminnous, Rita and Zedd.

DOMMINNOUS: "What is it, Finster?"

FINSTER: "The last part of the Dark Zords has been found, my lord. It's being shipped over to the assembly room right now."

Domminnous smiles as he stands up.

DOMMINNOUS: "Excellent! How soon until it can be finished?"

FINSTER: "Well, at the rate it took us to assemble the other parts and the necessary tools we need to reconnect them to the Zords..."

RITA: (snaps) "Just tell us, Finster!"

FINSTER: "Three weeks, minimum."

Domminnous frowns. This was clearly not the answer he wanted to hear.

DOMMINNOUS: "Why must we wait that long?"

FINSTER: "Well, it's not so easy to connect missing limbs to such large vehicles as these, my lord. It requires time and patience to make sure everything is repaired, reconnected and fully recharged again. But don't worry. I have plenty of the serum to last until then and make sure that your condition remains stabilized."

Domminnous sneers and he looks away. Three more weeks of feeling weak. But what choice did he have?

DOMMINNOUS: "Very well. None of us can leave this planet without them, since our own teleporting abilities are useless here." (sighs) "Three weeks, Finster. And they had best be ready by then."

FINSTER: (nervously) "I - I understand, your highness. I'll get started right away."

Domminnous nods and he sits back on his throne, trying his best not to grimace.

DOMMINNOUS: "While you're rebuilding the Zords, we'll have the humans wait in their cabins until the Zords are finished and then send them back to Earth."

FINSTER: "Very well."

ZEDD: "I'll go with you to help assemble the Zords. Come along, Rita."

RITA: "What? But Rito and Goldar said they'd help Finster with the Zords!"

Zedd turns and he looks over at Rita.

ZEDD: "You'd trust Goldar and your brother to reassemble the Dark Zords' parts correctly?"

Rita pauses for a moment. She shakes her head in dismay and she walks to the doorway with Zedd.

RITA: "All right. Point taken."

Zedd, Rita and Finster walk out of the room and Finster closes the doors behind them.

* * *

In the eighth cabin of the mining camp, Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Tommy, Katherine and Ethan all walk into room, following the other people inside. Tommy and Jason turn around, as the door closes behind them. The door locks from the outside and they hear footsteps growing distant from outside.

TOMMY: "Sounds like the guard's leaving. I guess this is our new cabin."

ZACK: "I thought we were going to our own cabins."

Tommy shrugs.

TOMMY: "We got rushed into lines so quickly, I think they're just shoving us in anywhere until it's time for us to go back."

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, but now we've got two Dark Zords to worry about when they've been rebuilt."

ZACK: "We'll worry about that later. Right now, I'm just glad we're not having guards smacking clubs onto our backs anymore."

TOMMY: "And at least now we're all together."

Kat looks around the room at the other occupants in the room, noticing stacks of books set against the wall.

KAT: "Well, at least now we've got something to pass the time instead of digging."

Kimberly sits on a vacant bed and removes her shoes.

KIMBERLY: (sighs) "I have to admit, it feels good to sit down and relax for a change."

Jason nods and walks to Kimberly's bed, sitting beside her. Ethan sits down on his own bed beside Kimberly's and glances over at them. Jason holds Kimberly's hand and she lets out a soft smile as she lays her head down on Jason's right shoulder.

JASON: "Are you okay? How're you feeling?"

KIMBERLY: "Don't worry about me, Jason. I'm fine, really. It's just a couple of scratches. Soon, it'll be nothing more than some scars and a bad memory."

Jason looks at Kimberly in concern and then he notices the outfit she's wearing. Jason smirks and he softly chuckles. Kimberly notices and she gives him a puzzled look.

KIMBERLY: "What?"

JASON: "That's the same outfit that you wore back when we were on Muiranthias."

Kimberly notices her clothes and she frowns as she remembers their time on the island of Muiranthias. Of course, the memories of being captured by a space pirate and being sacrificed into an active volcanic pit was something neither of them could ever forget. She doesn't notice Ethan's puzzled expression after hearing Jason's remark.

ETHAN: "Muira-what?"

Jason and Kimberly look over at Ethan, confused by what Jason said. Kimberly smiles softly at Ethan.

KIMBERLY: "Don't worry about it, Ethan. It's a long story."

Ethan shrugs at them.

ETHAN: "Well, whenever you decide to tell it, I've got the time to hear it. We all do."

KAT: "How much longer do you think we'll be here?"

Tommy frowns, exchanging grim looks with Jason.

TOMMY: "Until the two Dark Zords are finished, I guess. Then our problems really begin."

* * *

Three weeks later, in the throne room of the palace, Domminnous is seated on his throne and the last of the serum in his IV bag flowing into his arms. He looks considerably weaker and even more pale than we last saw him. The dim morning sun shines through one of the dark-tinted windows of the throne room. The doors open and Finster enters the room. Domminnous looks down the room at Finster and he removes the IV from his arm.

DOMMINNOUS: "Are the Zords finished?"

FINSTER: "Yes, my lord. Everything has been completed, right on schedule."

Domminnous smiles and rises to his feet, holding his staff in one hand.

DOMMINNOUS: "Show me."

* * *

Zedd, Rita, Rito, Goldar and Scorpina stand in the middle of the large assembly room and look at the far wall. The doors to the room open and Domminnous walks with Finster into the room. He leans on his staff on keep standing and Finster keeps hold of his arm to help him walk, no longer able to hide his pain.

DOMMINNOUS: "Are the Zords at full power?"

FINSTER: "Yes, sir, and ready for use."

Domminnous stands by the others, looks at the far wall ahead and smiles.

DOMMINNOUS: "At last."

The limbs on the sides of the first body are attached, with four silver legs attached to each side, resembling a black widow SPIDER. The silver wings are attached to the back of the second robot body and the stinger is hooked to the bottom end. The second robot Zord resembles a giant WASP. A large hole is placed in the center of the Spider Zord's back, while a large peg stands out from the bottom of the Wasp Zord's stomach.

DOMMINNOUS: "The Spider and Wasp Zords are ready to take us out. How long will it take for the Zords to fly us down there?"

FINSTER: "Well, given the distance it will take us to reach the Earth and the speed the Zords will take us there at full power, it should take at least four days."

DOMMINNOUS: "Very well. Get the Zords powered up and ready for launch. Goldar, transport the humans back to their planet."

Goldar nods and he walks out of the room.

* * *

Later that day at the mining camp, Kat, Tommy, Kimberly and Jason walk out of the open doorway of the eighth cabin. They stand in line with Zack, Ethan and the other men, women and children that have already lined up outside. Kat, Tommy, Kim, Jason, Zack and Ethan are all wearing the same clothes they did when they were brought to Drynnix. The eight Putties, Goldar, Rito and eighty of Domminnous' Guards stand watch before them.

GOLDAR: "Come on! Everyone line up!"

Once all the people stand in the long line, Goldar grins and steps forward.

GOLDAR: "We have kept you here while we assembled the parts to the Dark Power Zords. Now that they have been completed, we are sending you back to Earth with this message! We will be flying the Dark Zords off of Drynnix to your planet! We will arrive down there in four days time! That is how long you will have to enjoy your last free days on Earth!"

Goldar laughs wickedly and Zack steps forward in anger. Jason puts out his arm just as quickly and he stops Zack from moving forward.

JASON: (whispers) "No! We can't fight them like this, Zack. They'll hurt someone if we do."

Ethan glances over, noticing Jason and Zack. Zack sneers and he steps a step back. Ethan gives them a confused look, but his attention is quickly turned to the ground as it starts to shake.

TOMMY: "I remember this."

A large shadow starts to loom over the people from above, as the ground shakes harder. The men, women and children stagger back, trying to keep their balance.

Kimberly turns around, her hair blowing in the wind, and her head tilts back as she looks skyward. Kimberly watches the wide wave of indigo energy loom form in the sky and it slowly begins to loom down from above the clouds. Another stray bolt of energy crackles around the energy wave and it fires off into the distance, hitting a wall of the cave and making a hole in it.

The shaking ground makes the humans fall and hit the floor. Goldar, the Putties, Rito and the Guards, though, are unaffected by the shaking. Jason looks up at Goldar with a sneer, as Ethan notices Goldar smile wickedly at him.

GOLDAR: "See you soon!"

Goldar starts laughing again. Ethan notices a stray energy bolt fire down and is headed for Zack. Ethan reaches out, grabs Zack's arm, and quickly pulls him back. The bolt strikes the ground, inches before Zack, and makes a small hole in the ground. Another stray bolt of energy fires down at the ground, headed right for Kimberly. Kimberly notices it, rolls aside on the ground and barely misses the bolt. The bolt hits the ground and Kimberly lands on her knees near Jason. Jason crouches beside Kimberly, wraps his arms around her and he looks down at Kimberly.

JASON: (yells) "Everybody hang on!"

The energy wave washes down over the people and they disappear in a flash of indigo light. The energy wave grows out in width, then slows down and finally stops. The energy wave suddenly crashes down and evaporates. As it fades away, all of the humans have already gone.

* * *

On Earth, back in Angel Grove, several of the humans have re-appeared in the main hall of the Fitness Center. Everyone has been taken back to the same spot they disappeared from. Jason and Kimberly are on their knees, with his arms still around her. Kimberly opens her eyes and looks around at the hall. Kimberly looks up at Jason and she puts her arms around him. Kimberly sadly sets her head on his shoulder, with tears in her eyes.

KIMBERLY: "We're back... for what it's worth."

Jason runs his hand through Kimberly's hair, as she shuts her eyes and she silently starts crying. Jason looks up and he sees Ethan in the hall, along with Zack, Mr. Andrews and others.

JASON: "Is everyone okay?"

Ethan nods at Jason and then looks around.

ETHAN: "Where are Katherine and Thomas?"

The front doors open and Tommy and Kat walk inside the center from the parking lot. They walk down the hall and Kat looks ahead, seeing Jason holding Kimberly.

KAT: "You guys okay?"

ETHAN: "Yeah. We're fine." (sighs) "What now?"

Everyone is silent. Tommy and Kat exchange worried looks at one another. They had a pretty good idea what was about to happen... but there was nothing they could do to stop it.


	10. Chapter 10

In the generator room, later that day, the man in the robe and Ionisos both stand before the machine. Their invention is now completed and fully connected. All of the generators are hooked to the pipes, the tubes, gears and pistons and the platforms are attached to the control panels and circuitry.

MAN IN ROBE: "It's finally finished, but the power cells need to finish fully charging up. It should be ready to use by later tonight."

The door opens from behind and a WOMAN in a blue cloak with a hood appears in the doorway, holding a black walking stick in her left hand. The woman's head is lowered, her face not seen.

WOMAN IN CLOAK: "Follow me, please. There's something that you must see."

* * *

In the main chamber, the man in the robe, the woman in the cloak and Ionisos look at Helen on the screen.

HELEN: "For those of you just joining us, the missing citizens of Angel Grove were found today back in the new Plaza."

IONISOS: "Oh, no. They must have found the Zord parts!"

HELEN: "The missing residents say that they were sent back by an alien creature called Domminnous and his alien forces and they were forced into work finding five pieces of Dark Zord robots. They also mentioned that they are headed for Earth and will arrive in four days time."

The woman in the cloak turns around and looks at an unseen guest in the room.

WOMAN IN CLOAK: "Did you retrieve the elixirs?"

VOICE: "I've just brought them in."

WOMAN IN CLOAK: "Then we must take them quickly if we are to accompany you two down to Earth to help your friends."

VOICE: "Are you certain you want to go through with this?"

WOMAN IN CLOAK: "We made a promise to help you. We're going to keep our word."

The man in the robe nods at his friends.

MAN IN ROBE: "The machine will be ready in a few hours and then we can leave for Earth. We will need to be ready."

* * *

At 5 p.m., in the master bedroom of Jason's home, Kimberly sits on their bed, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Kimberly stares at the window, looking outside. The bathroom door opens and Jason walks out, dressed in a white T-shirt with a black stripe across the chest and black pants. Jason dries his wet hair with a towel and then stops as he looks at Kimberly. Jason walks over to their bed and he sits beside her.

JASON: "Hey. Are you okay?"

Kimberly pauses for a moment and she lowers her head.

KIMBERLY: "I... I just can't stop thinking about it. About what's happened... about what's about to happen..."

Kimberly pauses and she closes her eyes.

KIMBERLY: "I'm scared."

Jason frowns, noticing she's lightly shaking. He puts his arm around Kimberly and holds her close to his chest. The cell phone by Jason's bed rings and he eyes it in confusion. Kimberly opens her eyes, she gently gets out of Jason's hold and she reaches for her phone. Kimberly grabs the cell phone, she opens it and puts it to her ear.

KIMBERLY: "Hello?"

Kimberly pauses, listening to the other end of the phone.

KIMBERLY: "Oh, hello, Ethan." (pauses) "Yes, we're fine." (pauses) "What? When?" (pauses) "All right. We'll meet you there. Goodbye."

Kimberly hangs up the cell phone and she turns to Jason.

JASON: "What was that about?"

KIMBERLY: "I'm not sure. Ethan said he wanted to meet us over at the Juice Bar later to talk."

* * *

That night, back in the generator room, the man in the robe, the woman in the cloak and Ionisos all stand before the machine. A timer is set on the controls of the machine, counting down.

MAN IN ROBE: "Come along. There's not much time before it teleports us down to the control room."

VOICE: "I'm coming."

A shadowy figure walks down the room, not seen clearly, and stands beside Ionisos before the machine. The timer counts down its final three seconds and then the machine gets into motion. The parts of the machine start to move slowly and then it builds up speed. As the machine starts to move faster and builds to its full power, the overhead platforms over the quartet shine with white light and the light quickly flashes over them. As the light fades, the four have already left the room, teleported away. With the light gone, the parts of the machine slow down and it finally stops, powering down.

* * *

At 6 p.m., in the new Juice Bar, Ethan sits at a table for six. Seated beside him are Katherine and Tommy, with Zack seated on the other side of the table. They've all changed clothes and showered since arriving back on Earth. Kat has a on an unzipped pink jacket over her T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Tommy is wearing a long-sleeved black overshirt over his green shirt, black pants and black sneakers with green shoe laces. Zack is wearing a jacket over a purple T-shirt, black pants and sneakers, while Ethan has on a gray shirt, denim jeans and sneakers.

TOMMY: "So, what did you want to talk to us about, Ethan?"

ETHAN: "Just a moment, Thomas. Not yet."

Ethan looks down the room and sees the doors open. Jason and Kimberly walk in and to the table.

ETHAN: "There they are."

Jason and Kimberly stop walking, as they see Zack, Tommy and Kat seated with him.

ETHAN: "Thanks for coming. Please, sit down."

Jason eyes Kimberly in confusion and sits in the vacant middle seat beside Zack. Kimberly sits beside Jason, as she looks over at Ethan.

JASON: "What is this all about?"

ETHAN: "Actually, Jason, that was going to be my question to the five of you."

KIMBERLY: "What do you mean?"

ETHAN: "I know there's more to this whole thing with those creatures than any of you are telling me. I just want to know how you know."

ZACK: "Ethan, we've been through this."

ETHAN: "And you never answered. Any of you. I saw the look on your face in line, Zackary. Jason had to hold you back to keep you from reaching Goldar, even with those armed guards and Putties with him."

JASON: "You can't blame him for being so upset with Goldar after all we've been through."

ETHAN: "Being upset is one thing. Trying to charge at an armed alien that's hurt him and you over and over in those caves is something else. I saw the same look on your face, Jason. You were doing your best to keep yourself calm at the sight of Goldar."

TOMMY: "Ethan, we know this is all very confusing to you, but this isn't what you think."

ETHAN: "I don't know what to think! There's something else behind all this and I seem to be the only one who noticed it! It's driving me crazy trying to figure this out!"

Kat frowns. She hated seeing her friend so frustrated. She puts her hand on Ethan's shoulder and he looks at her.

KAT: "What do you want us to say?"

ETHAN: "Just tell me the truth. You're my friends. You can tell me whatever it is you're hiding and I'll understand."

Tommy looks over at the others and then at Ethan. Tommy shakes his head in response.

TOMMY: "Ethan, there's nothing -"

ETHAN: (interrupts) "Nothing to tell me. Right."

Ethan sighs. He knew his friends were lying to him. What could they be working so hard to keep from telling him? Ethan looks down as his cell phone rings. Ethan picks up his phone and then looks at the others.

ETHAN: "I'll be back in a moment."

KAT: "Ethan..."

Ethan rises to his feet and walks off, going down the room and out into the hall. Katherine looks over at the others and shakes her head.

KAT: "Now what?"

JASON: "We could try telling him the truth."

ZACK: "Yeah, right. How do you think he'd take the news of what we did as a team after classes in high school? He's not gonna understand it, Jase, and we don't know if he'd blurt it out to anyone else."

JASON: "I trust him, Zack. He deserves to know."

ZACK: "I don't think we should tell him. Besides, we've got bigger things to worry about."

Jason nods, knowing full well what Zack meant. The overhead lights start to flicker and fade and then the room suddenly goes dark.

KIMBERLY: "What's with the lights?"

TOMMY: "Looks like the power went out."

A low spark emerges from behind their table.

JASON: "What was that?"

A few more seconds pass and a low crackling noise hits the room. All goes silent, lasting several seconds. The lights flicker and turn back on, much to the relief of the customers seated at the tables. However, Jason, Kimberly, Tommy, Zack and Katherine have already left.

* * *

Kimberly hits the floor of a large, round dimly lit room, with Jason, Zack, Tommy and Kat dropping down and landing beside her. The lights brighten a bit, and the increased illumination reveals the interiors of a very familiar chamber. Kimberly gets up to all fours and she looks ahead in shock.

ZACK: "What happened?"

TOMMY: "Is everyone all right?"

KIMBERLY: "Oh, my gosh."

Jason, Zack, Tommy and Katherine turn around and see what Kimberly sees. The five stand up and look around the large, round control room of the Command Center. The energy rings of the tall columns shine with light, while the two control stands ahead are repaired, as if brand new. Inside the large Plasma Tube, the various crystals stored inside the middle of it are now in different colors - some are red, some are pink, some black, some yellow, some blue and some are green. The Viewing Globe is on a stand a few dozen feet before the controls. The large entry/exit doors are seen in the distance behind the Viewing Globe. Jason, Kimberly, Tommy, Kat and Zack look around the room in shock and walk to the console ring.

JASON: "The Command Center?" (pauses) "But how did we get here?"

KAT: "I don't understand. The Command Center was destroyed years ago."

IONISOS: "We fixed it."

The five turn around in shock and see Ionisos standing before the Viewing Globe.

KIMBERLY: "Who are you?"

IONISOS: "Don't be afraid, Kimberly. I am Ionisos, a master inventor and scientist. I'm the one who repaired the teleportation systems to bring you here."

KIMBERLY: "How do you know my name?"

VOICE: "We told him."

Kimberly, Tommy, Jason, Katherine and Zack turn around and see the shadowy figure standing before the round Plasma Tube. The figure steps into the light, showing that the VOICE belongs to their old friend, the robot ALPHA 5.

ALPHA 5: "Welcome back, Rangers."

TOMMY: "Alpha?"

Standing beside Alpha 5 is the man in the robe, his head lowered and his face hidden.

JASON: "But who is that?"

The man grabs the hood and lifts it up, exposing his face for the first time. Kimberly stares in shock and puts her hands over her heart, tears forming in her eyes.

KIMBERLY: (softly) "Oh, my God."

The man in the hood shows the bald, youthful face of ZORDON. Zordon's eyes are blue and his skin is Caucasian. Zordon lets out a soft smile and looks at the five adult former Rangers before him.

ZORDON: (softly) "Hello, Rangers."

JASON: "Zordon..." (beat) "You're alive."

Kimberly stares at Zordon a moment, unable to believe her eyes. Zordon walks to them and stands before Kimberly. Kimberly wipes the tears from her eyes and she smiles at Zordon. Kimberly puts her arms around Zordon, giving him a hug. Zordon puts his arms around Kimberly, as she rests her head on his shoulder.

ZORDON: "It's good to see you again, too."

Kimberly ends the hug and she smiles at Zordon.

KIMBERLY: "I've wanted to do that for so long."

Zordon gently holds Kimberly's hands, as she looks at him in concern.

KIMBERLY: "But... but how are you alive?"

ZACK: "Yeah. We thought you were dead."

ZORDON: "I was. After my energy tube was shattered and the energy wave hit, washing over the forces of evil, I had died in the process."

TOMMY: "What brought you back?"

WOMAN IN CLOAK: "I did."

The five turn and see the woman in the cloak standing beside Alpha 5. The woman grabs the hood and lifts it up from her face, showing the beautiful, early-30s looking DULCEA. Dulcea has curly brown hair that goes down to her shoulders in length. Dulcea opens her cloak and drops it off, revealing the scantily-clad, bluish-green outfit on her thin, but athletically built body. The top resembles a bra, while the bottom is a skirt with the sides split open, leaving her toned legs bare. Dulcea is also wearing pads that cover her forearms and knee-high boots. Zack lowers his head as the robe hits the floor and quickly lifts his head up to Dulcea.

ZACK: (clears throat) "Miss, I believe you dropped something."

KATHERINE: "Who are you?"

DULCEA: "I am Dulcea, master warrior of the planet Phaedos. I'm an old friend of Zordon's."

Zordon looks over at the five former Rangers.

ZORDON: "Please, my friends. Allow us to explain all of this. There is much to tell."


	11. Chapter 11

Back in the Juice Bar, Ethan walks back to the table as he puts his cell phone into his pocket. Ethan notices the others have left the table and he stops walking.

ETHAN: (sighs) "If they didn't want to explain, they could've just said so."

Ethan turns and walks to the doorway, but stops as he looks out the window. Ethan notices Jason's car in the parking lot, parked next to Tommy's. Ethan turns around and looks back at the table in confusion. If they hadn't left the Juice Bar, then where did they go? Ethan turns and walks down to the bar. Ethan stands at the bar and sees MARGARET - 30 years old with short auburn hair - standing behind the bar, filling up a glass with soda.

ETHAN: "Excuse me. Have you seen my friends? They were over at that table just a few minutes ago."

MARGARET: "No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen them. Please, excuse me. I have to get back to work."

Margaret grabs the soda and she walks off to a customer seated nearby. Ethan turns around and he looks around the room.

* * *

Back in the Command Center's control room, the five former Rangers look on at Dulcea. She has already started filling the Rangers in on what's happened.

DULCEA: "A long time ago, before Zordon was placed in his time warp, he had assisted me on Phaedos to stop a powerful evil being from overtaking the Vistri crystal. The crystal has enough energy to grant its owner eternal youth and life, as well as resurrect the dead."

KAT: "Domminnous."

DULCEA: "Right. Zordon helped me defeat him and helped drive him away. I was entrusted to guard the crystal and make sure it never fell into the wrong hands. Then, years later, I learned of Zordon's passing through a mutual friend, Delphine of Aquitar. A few years later, I was visited by Ionisos. He flew his ship to Phaedos to warn me our common enemy had somehow survived the energy wave and that Domminnous had escaped."

ZACK: "If you knew of Zordon's death, why didn't you try to bring him back before the monsters returned?"

DULCEA: "It's not that simple. Zordon's sacrifice affected so much and so many lives that it was difficult to revive him. But when Domminnous started to revive those destroyed and changed by Zordon's energy wave, there became an imbalance. In order to restore it, I had to use the crystal to resurrect Zordon."

KIMBERLY: "So how did the crystal bring him back? How does it work?"

DULCEA: "In the case of resurrections, it depends on the state of the person. If the person is alive, they can become immortal by simply holding it. For those that have just died, you put it on the body and the crystal's energy flows into them to restore their very life force into them. If you don't wish to become immortal, you must be sure to wear the special mystic glove to hold it."

TOMMY: "What if you don't have a body like Zordon?"

DULCEA: "If you have no body, you must get an item that they possessed in life and set the crystal on it. The only way to do that was to go to Zordon's home on Eltar and place it on a belonging of his. But like

Zordon's time warp, I could only stay alive and not age on my own planet. So, Ionisos left for me, got Zordon's robe and returned. I set down the crystal on it and it was able to restore him."

TOMMY: "You mean the crystal remade his body? But wait. If you couldn't leave Phaedos, how are you here now?"

ZORDON: "After much time and research, Ionisos was able to create a special serum that would maintain her youth and allow her to stay on Earth unaffected. Once it was ready, Dulcea took it and joined us down here on Earth."

KAT: "But what about your own youth, Zordon? How did you get it?"

DULCEA: "The exposure to the Vistri crystal also left Zordon immortal, restoring his youth. As a result of being immortal, Zordon no longer needs to breathe, eat or sleep."

JASON: "How did you repair the Command Center?"

DULCEA: "While we were reunited with Zordon, Alpha Five was sent to Earth to repair the Command Center to help Zordon resume his quest against evil with his newfound immortality. But while Alpha was here, Ionisos established his own chamber on Phaedos for us to keep watch over Domminnous. We learned that he had found some of the pieces of the Dark Zords on an alien world and of his arrival on Drynnix. He was unable to dig for them himself, because the planet drained his powers and the caves were made of invisible energy, preventing them from digging out the Zords pieces."

ZACK: "Which is one reason why the Guards and the others watched us dig instead of working."

IONISOS: "Domminnous' ship was rendered useless when they arrived and they were left stranded. Their only way out was flying in the Zords and off Drynnix. Finster didn't have the parts needed to teleport them off of the planet, so Domminnous and the others went to work making a new transporter to bring workers to the planet."

TOMMY: "But the Zords are rebuilt and Domminnous is on his way to Earth. There has to be some kind of a way that they can be stopped, right?"

IONISOS: "There is. I was asked to remain on Phaedos with Zordon and obtain the Denness mold buried within the planet."

TOMMY: "What's a Denness mold?"

IONISOS: "It is a substance much like clay. It is hard to obtain, but is the strongest material on Phaedos, able to be made into anything and possesses a powerful energy beyond all else."

ZACK: "Talk about fortunate."

Jason promptly elbows Zack for the remark.

JASON: "Zack..."

ZACK: "What? I'm just saying it's a bit weird that so many items of great power just happen to be on Phaedos."

Dulcea looks at Zack firmly, clearly not amused by what he's said.

DULCEA: "That's why it's one of the most dangerous planets inhabited. There is a constant struggle over obtaining the artifacts buried on my planet."

IONISOS: "Anyway, I was able to use the Denness mold to forge them into six coins and managed to transfer a powerful energy into them."

ZACK: "Coins?"

Zordon walks to the second control stand and he holds up a box. Zordon walks to the five former Rangers and stands before them.

ZORDON: "Not just any coins, Zack. These coins are powerful weapons to ensure no threat would ever conquer the universe."

Zordon lifts up the lid of the box and Zack, Kimberly, Jason, Katherine and Tommy gather around. They look at what's inside the box and the quintet look on in shock.

TOMMY: "I don't believe it."

Inside the box are six golden Power Coins, each with a different image carved into them. The image on one coin is of a pterodactyl, one of a dragon's claw, one of a mastodon, one of a saber tooth tiger, one of a triceratops and the last coin is of a tyrannosaurus. Tommy eyes Zordon in shock.

TOMMY: "But... but the energy from the Power Coins. I thought they were gone."

ZORDON: "They were... from the old Coins. With Ionisos' help, we molded the Denness material into these new Power Coins. They have the same abilities as the original Power Coins, but they are more powerful than any power any of you had ever possessed. The Coins have been touched by the Light of Goodness, and their power can never be taken away by the forces fo evil."

Kimberly looks up at Zordon in stunned realization.

KIMBERLY: "That's why we're here. You came to Earth to give us the Coins."

IONISOS: "It wasn't an easy task to do. When Alpha had finished repairing the Command Center, I flew to Earth and brought him back to Phaedos to get ready. But there was a storm and the ship crashed, too damaged to repair. Without the proper parts to rebuild the ship, we had to build a teleportation machine to leave and try to help you on Drynnix. But by the time we had finished, you had found the Zord parts and were taken back to Earth."

ZACK: "So why us?"

ZORDON: "We had no other candidates to select to use the Power Coins. You were the only ones with the skills and the experience to take on Domminnous and his forces. We need your help to stop Domminnous. Please."

Jason looks at the others, as they glance at one another. Jason looks at the Power Coins inside the box with a grin and he picks up the Tyrannosaurus coin with his right hand.

JASON: "I'm in."

Tommy nods and he picks up the Dragon coin. It'd certainly been a long time since he'd seen this Power Coin.

TOMMY: "Me, too."

Kimberly looks at Kat and she gives her a nervous smile.

KIMBERLY: "Would you mind if I took the pink coin?"

Kat smiles at Kimberly and picks up the Saber Tooth Tiger coin with her left hand.

KATHERINE: "Go right ahead."

Kimberly smiles and picks up the Pterodactyl coin with her right hand. She looks at the coin for a moment and she smiles, remembering all the times she had to use her old Power Coin all those years ago. Zack looks at the two remaining Power Coins, as if trying to think of which to select. Zack stops and pauses a moment, hesitating. He looks up at Zordon a moment, noticing his look of concern. Zack looks back at the two Power Coins, giving thought on what to do. Finally, he shakes his head and he grins as he picks up the Mastodon Power Coin with his left hand.

ZACK: "Ah, sure, why not? We never could turn you down, Zordon."

ZORDON: "And I'm grateful for that. I appreciate you accepting to help. But we have one problem remaining."

Zordon looks down in the box at the remaining Triceratops coin.

ZORDON: "While we have five Rangers gathered together, we still need one for the Triceratops Power Coin."

Jason looks at the others. It was clear he already knew who he wanted to select.

JASON: "Well?"

Kimberly looks at Jason and nods, holding his hand.

KIMBERLY: "Go ahead and tell him."

Jason smiles at Kimberly and he turns to Zordon.

JASON: "I think I know the right man for the job. Can you teleport him down here?"

IONISOS: "Surely. Where is he now?"

* * *

Back in the Juice Bar, Ethan is seated at the table for six, holding his cell phone close to his ear.

ETHAN: "Then you haven't heard from them?" (pauses) "No, they just left almost ten minutes ago. But they didn't say where they were going." (pauses) "I'm not sure. When I came out, they were already gone. But their cars are still parked outside." (pauses) "All right, then, sir. I'm sorry to have disturbed you." (pauses) "Okay, Mr. Andrews. Good night."

Ethan hangs up the phone and puts it in his pocket. The lights in the room dim a moment and Ethan looks up at the ceiling, as the lights flicker.

ETHAN: "Not again. What's going on with the power?"

Ethan stands up from his seat and the lights turn off. A low crackling noise hits the room and all is left silent. A few seconds pass and then the lights turn back on. The customers look at the lights on the ceiling, upset. Margaret looks up at the lights and shakes her head.

MARGARET: "Weird."

Margaret turns and she walks down the bar to a customer, holding a glass of lemonade in her hand. She doesn't notice that Ethan has already vanished from his seat.

* * *

Ethan appears in a crackle of white light and he lands on all fours on the floor. Ethan turns around and he looks stunned as he sees the Viewing Globe. Ethan stares at it a moment and then he stands up. He looks around the Command Center's control room, in shock and awe at the interiors of the secret headquarters.

ETHAN: "Where...?"

ALPHA 5: "Welcome to the Command Center, Ethan."

Ethan turns to Alpha 5 and steps back, startled.

ALPHA 5: "Don't be startled. It's all right."

Ethan eyes Alpha in confusion.

ETHAN: "Who are you? _What_ are you? How do you know my name?"

ALPHA 5: "Your friends told me who you were."

Ethan turns and sees Ionisos standing with Dulcea and Zordon at the controls. Jason, Kimberly, Tommy, Kat and Zack stand beside them.

ETHAN: "Guys? What's going on? How did we get here? Who are these people?"

IONISOS: "You were right, Zack. He _does_ ask a lot of questions."

TOMMY: "It's okay, Ethan. Don't be upset."

ETHAN: "Don't be upset?! I've suddenly appeared in some sort of chamber with a group of strangers and a talking robot! I think it's quite a good reason to be upset, Thomas!"

The Rangers exchange glances and Jason walks forward to Ethan.

JASON: "Ethan... you were right in the Juice Bar. You're our friend and you deserve to know the truth. So, that's why we decided to bring you here and tell you. Everything."

* * *

Elsewhere, in a distant galaxy, the Wasp Zord flies in outer space. Its metal wings are flapping while green energy flows through the rocket engines sticking out from its back. The Spider Zord is held underneath the Wasp Zord, with the peg from the Wasp Zord's stomach inserted into its back to connect them.

RITO: "Are we there yet?"

ZEDD: "No!"

* * *

Inside the robotic skull of the Wasp Zord, Rito sits in one of the seats beside Rita in the back. Rita and Domminnous sit at the front seats, flying the Zord. Domminnous looks out of the windshield, looking out into space.

RITO: "Are we there yet?"

ZEDD: (snaps) "NO!"

RITO: "Are we there yet?"

ZEDD: (growls) "You know it'll take four more days until we get there! There is no point for you to continue asking me that!"

RITO: "There is if it's successfully bugging you... like now."

Zedd glances at Rita, with red light burning in the red lens of his visor.

ZEDD: "Let me kill him. Please. Tell me I can kill him."

RITA: "Oh, pipe down, you two! We've only been flying in space for a few hours and already you're driving me crazy!"

Rita turns and looks at Domminnous.

RITA: "What about you? Are you feeling better? You look better than when we left."

Domminnous grins and makes his right hand into a fist. A spark of purple flame comes from his fingertips.

DOMMINNOUS: "I'm feeling much better, Rita. I can feel my powers growing inside me again. No more weakness. No more pain. And when my powers are fully restored, the Zords will conquer the Earth and I shall rule over the planet."

ZEDD: "You mean, WE will rule over the planet."

Domminnous turns his head and looks at Zedd.

ZEDD: "It seems your memory also needs some improving."

DOMMINNOUS: "Of course. We will rule over the Earth. I won't forget that again."

Domminnous looks out of the windshield, through the eyes of the Wasp Zord. Rito turns to Zedd.

RITO: "Hey, Ed... are we there yet?"

Zedd turns to Rita and she shakes her head.

RITA: "Hold it. Don't kill him." (pauses, smiles) "But I didn't say you couldn't hurt him."

RITO: "Sis!"

Rito looks at Zedd, as he grabs his staff.

RITO: "Wuh-oh!"

Rito rises from his seat and runs out of the open doorway, as Zedd stands up and quickly charges after Rito.

ZEDD: (snaps) "_Get back here, you imbecile!_"


	12. Chapter 12

Back in the Command Center, Ethan stares at Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Kat and Tommy in shock.

JASON: "And so then, Ionisos found your location, he teleported you here and here we are."

KIMBERLY: "We know it's a lot for you to take in and understand, but surely you can see why we had to keep all of this a secret."

Ethan looks away a moment, still stunned by what he's heard. He had no idea that they were hiding anything like _this_ from him. Kat stands beside Ethan and puts her hand on his shoulder.

KAT: "I know that to say that all of this is quite a shock would be a vast understatement. But we need someone else to help us stop this from happening, and we'd like you to be a part of the team."

Ethan turns around to Kat, still surprised by what he's seen and heard.

ETHAN: "First you tell me all of you, at one point or another, served this man Zordon as Power Rangers, and now you want to enlist me in the team?"

TOMMY: "We've known each other for a while, Ethan. We know how good you are at martial arts. You'd be a great addition to the team."

ETHAN: "Because I'm a good fighter?"

JASON: "It's more than that. Because you're also a good friend. Ethan, you were the first one that came to my mind when we needed someone else to take the missing Power Coin. You're strong, you're fast, you're clever... but youve also got a lot of heart, man, and you're also someone we can trust. And we would like to have you as part of the team."

Ethan looks at Jason and then stares at the box on the controls a moment. Ethan looks over at Kat and he lets out a soft smile.

ETHAN: "Did I ever tell you blue was my favorite color?"

Kat smiles and she hugs Ethan.

KAT: "Welcome to the team, Ethan."

ETHAN: "Thank you."

Ethan ends the hug and walks over to the control stand. Ethan looks at the open box and at the Triceratops Power Coin inside. Ethan pulls out the last Power Coin and holds it in his hand. Ethan looks at the Triceratops coin for a moment and then he looks over at the others.

ETHAN: "So, now what do we do?"

Ionisos walks over to them, holding the second box in his hands.

IONISOS: "You can each take one of these."

Kimberly walks to Ionisos and opens the box. She looks inside of the box and smiles.

KIMBERLY: "It's a new communicator."

Kimberly puts her communicator on over her left wrist, as the others walk over to Ionisos.

IONISOS: "These communicators allow you to keep in contact with each other over great distances, Ethan. They also allow you to teleport to the Command Center and anywhere else you need to go when trouble arises."

Kimberly looks back in the box and takes out a small gray, round case from the box.

ETHAN: "What is that?"

IONISOS: "These are the Power Morpher cases. This is where you keep your Power Coins. When you need to morph, just hold onto it and push your fingers down on the buttons in the sides."

Ethan gives Ionisos a puzzled look.

ETHAN: "Morph?"

IONISOS: "As in metamorphosis, to change into your costume. When you push the buttons and shout the name of the dinosaur on your Power Coin, your uniform appears over your body."

Jason, Zack, Ethan, Kat and Tommy walk to Ionisos and stand before him. Jason takes out the red communicator from the box and puts it on over his left wrist. Tommy pulls out the green communicator and then he puts it on his wrist. Zack takes out the black communicator and puts it on his wrist, and then Kat takes out the yellow communicator. As Kat puts it on her wrist, Ethan takes out the blue communicator and puts it on his wrist. The others take out their Power Morpher cases, one at a time, and then Ethan does the same. Ethan holds up his Power Coin and inserts it into the Morpher case.

ETHAN: "So, how do the communicators work?"

While Kimberly, Jason, Zack, Tommy and Kat place their coins in their Power Morpher and close them, Ionisos turns to Ethan. The six put their cases into their pants pockets and Ethan looks at his communicator.

IONISOS: "To talk into the small speaker, push the top button for contact. To teleport, push your finger down hard on the bottom button."

ETHAN: "And the middle button?"

KIMBERLY: "That one's new."

IONISOS: "When you push the middle button, the speaker is covered over and becomes a watch. When you want to change it back to the speaker, just push the button again." Kimberly pushes her finger on the middle button of her communicator and a thin screen slides down over the gray speaker. The screen reads 7:05 p.m.

KIMBERLY: "Whoa! This is Morphinomenal!"

Ethan gives Kimberly a puzzled look.

ETHAN: "Morphin-what?"

ZORDON: "Now that you what you have at your disposal, you must know the rules, Ethan. First, you must never use your powers for personal gain. Second, never escalate a battle unless you are forced to. And finally, keep your dual identity a secret. No one must know who you all really are."

Ethan nods at Zordon.

ETHAN: "I understand, Zordon, and I will follow the rules."

ZACK: "Wait, we have the Power Morphers and communicators, but what about the Dino Zords?"

ALPHA 5: "Don't worry, Zack. Ionisos has worked on them and they've already been put into secret hiding places. When you need them, simply call for them and they will come to your aid."

ZORDON: "Now that you have agreed to be a team, every group needs a team leader. Jason, for this particular team, I would like for you to resume active duty as the leader of the Power team."

Jason turns to Zordon, stunned by what he's heard.

JASON: "Me?"

Tommy grins at Jason and he puts his hand down on Jason's shoulder.

TOMMY: "Don't worry, Jase. I think he picked the right man for the job."

Jason smiles at Tommy, a little relieved by his friend's confidence in Zordon's decision.

KIMBERLY: "So, what do we do now?"

ZORDON: "All we can do now is wait. We have four days until the Dark Zords arrive, but you'll need to find time to train and get ready for what's ahead."

JASON: "Mr. Andrews lets us use the training room of the Fitness Center late when we need to. We can work in some training between classes and at nights."

IONISOS: "Good thinking."

TOMMY: "What about you guys?"

ZORDON: "We will remain here and finish with some new improvements to the Command Center. Go now and may the Power protect you."

JASON: "Thank you, Zordon." (turns around to his friends) "All right, guys. Let's see how our new communicators work."

Jason stands before the others and they look down at their communicators. The six push their fingers down on the bottom button of their communicators and they vanish in streaks of light of their respective Ranger suit color. After the six adults teleport away, Zordon looks over at Dulcea and Ionisos.

ZORDON: "The Rangers have their own work to do. I suggest we resume our own work."

* * *

Outside the back of the Juice Bar building, the six streaks of teleportation energy quickly shines down from the sky and they fade away to reveal Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Tommy, Kat and Ethan. With the energy streaks gone, the six look around and see that they are standing behind the Juice Bar. Ethan nearly stumbles as he lands and he looks at the others with a smile.

ETHAN: "Wow."

KATHERINE: "I know. It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

JASON: "Come on, guys. Let's go down to the Fitness Center and get ready to train. We need to be prepared for when Domminnous gets here."

Jason walks off away from the Juice Bar and the others follow after him.

* * *

Later that night, in the training room of the Fitness Center, Jason and Ethan stand on a mat. Jason and Ethan both are holding a bo staff in their hands. Ethan and Jason hit their staffs at one another, blocking each other's attacks. Jason strikes at Ethan, but Ethan blocks it with his staff. Jason smiles and nods.

JASON: "Nice work."

ETHAN: "Thanks for teaching me."

JASON: "No problem. Want to continue?"

Ethan nods and he resumes training with Jason. The two swing their staffs at one another and blocking each other's moves. Zack sits on a mat, panting and sweaty. Zack picks up his bottle of water beside him, opens the lid and sips it.

KIMBERLY: "This mat taken?"

Zack turns around and looks at Kimberly beside him. Kimberly is wearing a gray shirt with pink stripes and pink pants. Kimberly holds her own bottle of Ozarka water in one hand and two towels in the other.

ZACK: "Always room for one more, Kim. Have a seat."

Kimberly nods and sits beside Zack. Kimberly hands him one of the towels and he takes it.

ZACK: "Thanks."

Zack wipes the sweat off his face with the towel and then puts it over his shoulder. Kimberly sips her own bottle of water and then fastens the lid back on. Zack watches Ethan and Jason training.

KIMBERLY: "I see Jason's teaching Ethan some moves. He seems to be catching on quick."

ZACK: "Ethan's going to have the Power Lance weapon to use now. Jason's making sure he knows how to handle it."

KIMBERLY: "It should seem weird being a part of all of this again, but for me, it's not. I mean, the Morphers, the Zords, the communicators... it kind of feels like I never left."

ZACK: "Wish I could say the same. I just wonder what happens next."

KIMBERLY: "Simple. We take down the Dark Zords, blow them up and save the world. Everyone's happy." (shrugs) "What's there to wonder?"

ZACK: "I mean over at the club, Kim."

Kimberly eyes Zack in confusion.

KIMBERLY: "What?"

ZACK: "I got my ticket exchanged for this Saturday. Apparently, the airlines are willing to help refund tickets to those back from being captive on an alien planet."

KIMBERLY: "You mean you're going back? But you're part of the team."

ZACK: "For when we take on the Dark Zords and then I catch my flight back home this weekend."

Zack looks over at Jason, watching him training with Ethan. Kimberly frowns.

KIMBERLY: "Have you told Jason yet about your departure?"

Zack looks at Kimberly, a bit surprised by her question.

ZACK: "Are you kidding me? Did you see the look on his face when I took the Mastodon Coin back tonight? I'm not really sure what to say. But I'm not looking forward to the look on his face when he realizes I'm going."

KIMBERLY: "Neither am I."

Zack looks over at Kimberly, as she wipes the sweat from her brow with her towel.

KIMBERLY: (sighs) "Come on. We'd better get on with with our training."

Zack looks on as Kimberly walks off to a chair near a large mat. Kimberly sets down her water bottle and towel on the chair and then walks onto the mat. Kimberly stands still and then she flips backwards and lands on her feet.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, at noon in the Levy Diner, Kat is seated before Tommy at a table for two in the large diner. A bowl of salad, a plate with a tuna fish sandwich and a can of Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper is set before Tommy, while a plate of sliced ham and mashed potatoes is placed before Kat. Kat sips her glass of milk and sets it down. She looks over at Tommy in concern.

KAT: "Is everything all right?"

Tommy nods at Kat, as he digs his fork into his bowl of salad.

TOMMY: "They're still staring at us, aren't they?"

Kat looks at the customers seated around the diner. All eyes are on Tommy and Kat. As she looks at them, the customers quickly look away, trying not to glance over.

KAT: "You can't exactly blame them. Our pictures were all over the papers after we returned from Drynnix."

Tommy nods and he grabs his can of Caffiene Free Dr. Pepper.

TOMMY: "Have you heard from your boss at the Plaza yet?"

KAT: "Yeah, I'll be teaching again next week. What about you?"

TOMMY: "I go back next Monday. They've got a substitute to teach for me until then. I heard the others go back to the Center next Monday."

KAT: "I must admit, it sure does feel good to eat some normal food again other than alien bread and gruel."

TOMMY: "I'll say. I'll never take sleeping on a comfortable bed for granted again."

Tommy pauses for a moment, noticing how quiet everything is.

TOMMY: "They still looking?"

Katherine looks over and sees the customers staring again. Even waiters and waitresses are glancing over. The customers and waiters look away. Kat smiles and looks back at Tommy.

KAT: "Not anymore."

Tommy grins and takes a sip from his soda can.

* * *

At 6 p.m. at the Juice Bar and Diner, Kimberly and Jason sit at a table for two, with their food set on the table. They have bowls of salad, slices of pepperoni pizza on their plates, and have individual 16 oz. Coca-Cola bottles set by their plates. Kimberly eats a forkful of salad, swallows her bite of food, and smirks.

KIMBERLY: "It's nice to have a little variety back in our diet since we've been back. Did you get enough to eat?"

Kimberly looks up and takes the lid off of her Coca-Cola bottle. She looks at Jason, who is looking down at his plate of food. His food hasn't been touched yet and Jason looks deep in thought.

KIMBERLY: "Jason?"

Jason blinks and he looks up at Kim, snapped out of it.

JASON: "I'm sorry, Kim. What'd you say?"

KIMBERLY: "Are you okay? You haven't eaten yet."

Jason nods as Kimberly sips her Coca-Cola bottle.

JASON: "Yeah, I know. I was just thinking... about Zack."

Kimberly eyes Jason in concern as she sets down her soda bottle.

KIMBERLY: "I know. He's been really bummed since we've come back from Drynnix. I can't say I blame him."

JASON: "I just wish there was something we could do to cheer him up."

KIMBERLY: "We'll think of something."

Jason shrugs and he digs his fork into his salad.

JASON: "I know. I just wish I knew what to do."

Jason eats a forkful of salad, looking glum. Kimberly frowns and takes a bite out of her pizza slice. She swallows her bite of food, and Jason takes a bite out of his own pizza slice a few moments later. Kimberly prepares to take another bite out of her slice, but stops just as the slice gets close to her mouth. Kimberly sets her pizza slice down on her plate and looks up at Jason in realization.

KIMBERLY: "Maybe there is something we can do."

Jason looks up and at Kimberly, puzzled.

JASON: "What do you have in mind?"

Kimberly smiles.

* * *

Later that night, at the Fitness Center, the six Rangers are already training. Each Ranger is wearing a tank top and shorts. The flesh-colored whip scars are ever-present on Jason's back and on Kimberly's under their racerback tank tops. Jason holds a punching bag as Zack beats up on it. He punches into the bag again and again, each punch harder than the last.

JASON: "Not bad, man. You wanna take a break?"

ZACK: "No, let's keep going."

Elsewhere, Tommy and Ethan are swinging padding-covered training sticks at each other. Tommy swings his stick at Ethan again and again, but Ethan blocks each attempt. Tommy tries it again, but Ethan blocks it and gently jabs Tommy's chest with his padded stick. Tommy staggers back and grins.

TOMMY: "You're getting better at this."

ETHAN: "Thanks. Want to go again, Thomas?"

TOMMY: "Why not?"

Across the room, Kimberly and Kat are training and blocking each other's attacks. Kimberly blocks Kat's punch and a distant pounding catches their attention. Kat turns and looks across the room.

KAT: "Wait. Kimberly, look."

Kimberly turns around as she hears distant grunting and faster pounding.

The pounding sounds also catch Tommy's attention and he stops swinging his training stick. Tommy and Ethan turn and look across the room.

Zack punches into the punching bag, again and again. He punches it harder...harder... Zack gets angrier with each punch and pounds into the punching bag harder. Jason moves the punching bag aside and steps in front of Zack, stopping him.

JASON: "Whoa. Ease up, Zack. Cool down."

Zack lowers his arms and he shakes his head.

ZACK: "I'm sorry, Jase. I just can't get these creeps out of my mind."

Jason sets his hand on Zack's shoulder and looks him in the eyes.

JASON: "Don't let these guys get to you. We're going to set things right."

The other Rangers walk over and crowd around Jason. They look at Zack in concern.

JASON (cont'd): "That's why we're here, remember? We won't let these guys win. I know how you feel, man. We all do. But you need to chill out a bit, clear your head."

ZACK: "I'm trying, Jase. I really am. But every time I look at you and I see your scars, and Kim's...and all that time we spent digging out those Zord pieces... After what they've done..."

Zack stops himself, almost in tears. Zack sighs and tries to calm down.

ZACK: "I just... I don't know how to calm down and relax when all we've had all these weeks is so much misery. I'm doing my best to cheer up, but it's been so hard."

Jason looks over at Tommy and he nods. Jason smiles and turns back to Zack.

JASON: "I think we can help make that a bit easier for you."

Zack looks at Jason, puzzled.

* * *

Minutes later, Zack is seated across the room at a table for six. Katherine and Kimberly push a cart with a large, chocolate birthday cake set on it, and a "29" candle set on top of it. Plates and silverware are also on the cart. Ethan, Tommy and Jason approach the table. Tommy and Jason carry gift-wrapped presents of various sizes in their hands, while Ethan carries six cups and a pitcher of vitamin D milk. ZACK CHUCKLES, pleasantly surprised.

ZACK: "Aw, man! You guys!"

JASON: "We still owed you a party before all of this happened, and now we can give you a late birthday bash."

Ethan sets down the cups and pitcher on the table and Zack smiles at his friends.

ZACK: "Well, thanks, guys. Really. I don't... I don't know what to say!"

KATHERINE: "Don't mention it. Happy birthday, Zack."

KIMBERLY: "Happy birthday, Zack."

OTHER RANGERS: "Happy birthday!"

Tommy and Jason set down the presents by the table and then they walk to the cart. Tommy grabs the cake and sets it down on the table. Jason grabs the plates and silverware that are also on the tray, and he sets them down on the table.

TOMMY: "All right, guys. Let's do it."

FIVE RANGERS (EXCEPT ZACK): (singing) "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR ZA-ACK... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOU."

Zack smiles and blows out the candle on his cake. His friends cheer and applaud.

ZACK: "Now what do you say we have a few pieces of cake and chill for a bit?"

ETHAN: "Sounds fine to me."

The other Rangers sit on vacant seats around the table and Tommy picks up a knife. He begins to carve the birthday cake.

* * *

Later that night, the six unmorphed Rangers have resumed training. The presents have been opened and put into bags, including a few CDs, a few DVDs, etc. The Rangers' plates all have crumbs of the cake slices they ate, their glasses of milk are now empty, and the rest of the birthday cake itself is set in a to-go box on the table. Jason is punching on a punching bag of his own, training hard. Kimberly walks over and stands beside him.

KIMBERLY: "You doing all right?"

JASON: "Yeah, thanks. I'm just picking up where we left off."

KIMBERLY: "That's not what I meant."

Jason looks over and he notices Zack is training with Ethan, using the same padded sticks to train with. Zack looks more relaxed as he trains, less upset. Jason smiles and looks at Kimberly.

JASON: "I'm better now that Zack's better. That was a great idea, Kim."

KIMBERLY: "It was your idea too. It's what we had planned all along. It just got pushed back a bit. But I'd say this party was worth the wait. I hope Zack thought so, too."

JASON: "I'm sure he liked it. And once this is all over, we can really start celebrating."

Kimberly smiles and she nods. Jason hugs Kimberly and she smiles as she wraps her arms around him. He smiles as he looks down in her eyes.

JASON: "Have I told you that I love you enough times today?"

KIMBERLY: "Yeah, you have. But I'm all right with repetition."

Kimberly smiles at Jason. He returns the smile and they lean in and kiss on the lips. Jason and Kimberly close their eyes as they kiss. Kimberly ends the kiss and Jason looks at her.

JASON: "You ready to finish up here?"

KIMBERLY: (nods) "Let's do it."

Kimberly ends the hug and walks off. She walks over to a punching bag of her own and prepares to resume training. Jason continues punching on the punching bag.

Across the room, Tommy is kicking a punching bag. He lets loose a few good punches and delivers a high kick that pushes the punching bag back. Kat walks over, holding two bottles of Ozarka water. She hands the unopened bottle over to Tommy.

KAT: "Here, you look like you could use this."

TOMMY: "Yeah. Thanks, Kat."

Tommy opens the lid of his water bottle and takes a few sips out of it. Tommy looks across the room and notices Kimberly and Jason punching on their punching bags.

TOMMY: "It's hard to believe this is all happening again, isn't it? I mean, ever since I moved back here from Reefside last year, the last thing I thought I'd be doing here was using a Power Morpher again."

KAT: "I know. A lot has changed around here and now we're going to have to deal with more of Rita and Zedd's mischief. But everything's going to be just fine. I just know it."

TOMMY: "Yeah, you're right."

Tommy holds Kat's hand and she smiles at him.

TOMMY: "You almost ready to call it a night?"

KATHERINE: "Almost. I just need to get in a little more training first." (smiles) "I love you, Tommy."

TOMMY: "I love you, too."

Tommy smiles and leans to Katherine. They kiss on the lips and Katherine closes her eyes as she kisses him. After a few moments, Tommy ends the kiss and Kat opens her eyes. She smiles at him.

TOMMY: "I'll meet up with you in a few minutes, okay?"

KAT: "Okay."

Kat turns around and she takes a sip out of her Ozarka bottle. Katherine closes the lid over her water bottle and she walks across the room to a training mat. As she walks off, Tommy unleashes some more punches at his punching bag.

Kat, meanwhile, sets her water bottle down on the floor and she steps onto a training mat. Katherine picks up two daggers from the mat and resumes training with them.

* * *

Later that night, in the hall of the Fitness Center, Tommy stands by a bench in the hall. He zips up his bag, getting ready to leave with Kat. Kimberly walks across the room and to their bench, looking concerned.

KAT: "Hey, Kimberly. Is everything okay?"

KIMBERLY: "I think so... I'm not sure. Could I ask you guys for a favor?"

TOMMY: "Well, sure, Kim. Name it."

* * *

Back in the training room, Jason is alone and hard at work training. He's using martial arts on a punch bag. He lets loose a few jabs, some punches, high kicks, spinning heel kicks, you name it. Although Jason's sweaty, he looks calm and isn't fatigued. He continues to punch at the punching bag, performing a martial arts routine. The bag is grabbed from behind and Tommy looks over at Jason from behind the bag. Jason stops training as he notices Tommy and he gives his friend a puzzled look.

JASON: "Hey, bro. What are you doing back here?"

TOMMY: "I was about to ask you that same question."

Jason looks at the punching bag and then back at Tommy. He smiles at Tommy.

JASON: "Kim wanted you to check on me, right?"

TOMMY: "She's just worried about you. She said this isn't your first night working out late in here."

JASON: "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

TOMMY: "Says the guy who was up till nearly two in the morning training last night. I'm a bit surprised you don't want to call it a night."

Jason pauses for a moment, frowning. Jason shakes his head, looking serious and focused.

JASON: "I can't do that now. I've still got a lot of training to do."

TOMMY: "I think you've done enough for today. Just take it easy, man."

Jason looks at Tommy and he sighs.

TOMMY: "Jase, come on. It's me, Tommy. We're bros. You can tell me anything, you know that. What's with the extra hours training, anyway?"

Jason pauses for a few moments and he shakes his head.

JASON: "I just want to be ready. I can't let you guys down, Tommy. I just can't."

TOMMY: "You haven't let us down so far. I think you've been doing a good job getting us prepared."

JASON: "But I should be doing more. I mean, it was one thing when I was a Ranger before. Back when I was the Gold Ranger, when I got my Power Morpher's powers restored, when we went to the moon to stop Serpentera..."

Tommy smiles, remembering the last time they worked together on the Sea of Tranquility with the other eight Red Rangers.

TOMMY: "Yeah, and you did great."

JASON: "But I wasn't in charge then. I wasn't the leader of that mission. I haven't been the team leader for a long time. What if it's been too long since I last made a choice as the leader?"

TOMMY: "You're worried about being rusty?"

JASON: "I don't think that I've got enough experience as a leader, man. I mean, it was different a few years back. You saw how just arrogant and cocky I was first-hand back on the Sea of Tranquility. The way I acted when we helped the Red Rangers fight off the Machine Empire generals..."

TOMMY: "Jase, we had also been on another mission a few days before that. You were recovering from a spell. You knew there'd be some side effects with your behavior after that encounter."

JASON: "But what if that's what I'd finally become as a leader? Acting so macho and superior, over-confident... I mean, the last time that I had my Power Morpher, I lost my Red Ranger powers to help the Silver Guardians against that monster we were fighting. I didn't even regret risking my life to save them, or giving up my powers in the process to stop that monster. But now..."

Jason pauses, trying his best to look calm.

JASON: "The worst thing I could think of is letting you guys down. That you guys would get yourselves killed in duty, that I wouldn't be able to stop it from happening...and it'd be all my fault."

TOMMY: "Jase, we all know the risks of being a Power Ranger. All you can do is be the best leader you can, and you've done it before. You were calling the shots before I ever had a Power Coin and you did a great job. You're a great leader and you do a better job than you give yourself credit for. Yeah, it's been a long time since you last gave an order, but I know when the time comes, you'll know exactly what to do and do whatever you can to make sure we do the best job we can. I know you're not going to be some stuck-up leader with a superiority complex or anything. Even when you were with us on the moon against General Venjix, you still let Cole be the one to defeat him. You didn't try to hold him back or keep him from helping you. You're a lot stronger and braver than you know, man."

Tommy puts his hand on Jason's shoulder and eyes him in concern.

TOMMY (cont'd): "Listen, I had some pretty big shoes to fill myself when Zordon suddenly put me in charge. I mean, I had to lead the Rangers after you and I wasn't sure I'd do as good of a job as you did. I was a different leader, yeah, but that doesn't mean I was better or worse at it than you. We just do what we can to make sure we'll be the best leaders we can be, that we know we can be there for one another when things get rough. When Zordon chose you to be our leader this time, I wasn't disappointed. I wasn't jealous or angry. To be honest, I was thrilled. I'd finally get to see you shine as leader for a change and see you take charge again. If there's one thing I know for sure, Jase, if there's anyone I'd have to take orders from, I'm sure glad it's you."

Jason looks at Tommy a moment, pausing. Jason smiles at Tommy.

JASON: "Thanks, man. For everything."

TOMMY: "It's no problem, bro."

Tommy holds up his hand and Jason's smile widens. The two high-five one another. Jason lets go of Tommy's hand and then he starts to a bench. He loads up his belongings into his red backpack with black straps and Tommy gives him a puzzled look.

TOMMY: "Hey, where are you going? I thought that you were going to be training late again."

Jason zips his now-full backpack shut and he turns around, smirking at Tommy.

JASON: "Nah. A good friend told me to go home and get some sleep. I think that's pretty good advice."

TOMMY: "Thanks, man. Besides, I'm sure your girl's a lot better company than being with this old punching bag."

JASON: "You've got that right. I'll see you tomorrow after class."

TOMMY: "You bet."

Jason puts on his backpack, walks towards the exit door and pushes it open. Jason walks out of the room and Tommy smiles as he follows after him to the exit.

* * *

The next day, at 5 p.m. at the Juice Bar and Diner, Kimberly is seated at the bar, wearing a pink jacket over a black T-shirt, black pants and sneakers. Andrea sits on a stool beside her, wearing a T-shirt, jeans andsneakers. Behind the bar, Margaret walks over to them.

MARGARET: "Hey, there. What can I get you?"

ANDREA: "I'll have a large Dr. Pepper, please."

KIMBERLY: "I'd like a large Coca-Cola, please."

Margaret nods and she walks off to get their order. Kimberly looks at Andrea with a smile.

KIMBERLY: "Thanks for going out with me, Andrea. It's been a while since we got to hang out like this."

ANDREA: "No problem."

Kimberly notices Andrea's glum look. She sets her hand on Andrea's shoulder.

KIMBERLY: "Are you okay?"

ANDREA: "That's what I was going to ask you."

KIMBERLY: "Andy, it's okay. I'm fine now, really."

ANDREA: "I'm sorry about what happened, Kim. What they did to you was my fault."

KIMBERLY: "No it wasn't. You can't keeping blaming yourself for what Scorpina did. Even if you hadn't been too tired to work, if you'd tried to stop her from hitting me, she would used that whip on you too."

ANDREA: "You still shouldn't have been hurt. I should've done something to help you. I should've tried."

Margaret walks back to Andrea and Kim, holding their large soda cups in her hands.

MARGARET: "That'll be four fifty."

Kimberly reaches in her pocket to grab some money.

ANDREA: "Don't worry, I've got it. Keep the change."

Andrea hands Margaret a five dollar bill and Margaret nods. Kimberly looks at Andrea in concern.

KIMBERLY: "Listen, I know you feel guilty about what happened. I get it. But I don't blame you for what Scorpina did. You can't feel bad about what happened. That wasn't your fault."

ANDREA: "I just wish there was something I could do to make it up to you. I owe you so much, Kimberly. You did so much for me back on Drynnix."

KIMBERLY: "You would've done the same for me. Now don't worry. Let's just try to enjoy our time out together and hang out."

ANDREA: "While we still can."

Andrea looks away, looking nervous. Kimberly frowns.

* * *

That night, in the Fitness Center's training room, three arrows are stabbed into a target hanging on the wall, one of which is in the center. Another arrow is fired and hits the center. Standing a few dozen feet before the target is Kimberly, holding a bow in her hands and dressed in a gray tank top and pink shorts. Kimberly puts an arrow in the bow, pulls it back and lets go. The arrow hits the center of the target. Kimberly smiles and she lowers her bow.

JASON: "You've still got it."

Kimberly turns around and looks at Jason, seeing him walk to her, holding two bottles of Ozarka water in his hands. Jason is wearing a gray tank top and red pants. Kimberly lowers her bow and grabs another arrow.

KIMBERLY: "Actually, I'm a bit rusty. But practice makes perfect."

JASON: "I got you some water."

KIMBERLY: "Thank you."

Jason hands Kimberly her bottle of water and she takes it in her hand. Kimberly opens the bottle and sips it. The doors to the room open and Jason and Kimberly turn around. Ethan, Tommy, Katherine and Zack walk into the room from the open doorway. The four are wearing gray tank tops and long pants. Katherine's pants are yellow, Tommy's are green, Zack's are black and Ethan's are gray. Ethan stops walking and looks at the others, as Kimberly closes the lid over her water bottle.

JASON: "Hey, guys. Ready to work out?"

ETHAN: "Wait a second...Don't you guys think that this is a bit odd?"

KIMBERLY: "What?"

ETHAN: "Do you guys always wear at least one article of clothing the same color as your Ranger identity whenever you change your clothes?"

The five look down at their pants and then look at Ethan.

TOMMY: "Huh. Well, not all the time."

JASON: "Come on. We should start our training. We don't have much time left before the Dark Zords arrive."

Jason notices Kimberly's worried look.

JASON: "What's wrong, Kim? You've been quiet ever since we got in the Center."

KIMBERLY: "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Andy."

KAT: "Is she okay?"

Kimberly SIGHS and she sits cross-legged on a mat. The other unmorphed Rangers gather around and look at her.

KIMBERLY: "Not really. She feels responsible for Scorpina beating me on Drynnix."

ZACK: "What? But she wasn't in any shape to dig after the extra hours they gave her. That's not her fault."

KIMBERLY: "That's what I told her, but she doesn't believe me. And now with the Dark Zords arriving, she's even more upset. The way she looked... Andrea was so scared, you guys. I've never seen her act like that before. And there was nothing I could say that would cheer her up."

TOMMY: "Well, she's in for a surprise when we face off with Domminnous and his goons. Those guys are in for a big surprise once we use our Morphers again."

There is a sudden knock on the door and the Rangers turn around.

KAT: "Who's that?"

ETHAN: "I don't know. I saw the other teachers leave for home an hour ago."

There is a second double knock on the door. Jason walks over to the doorway and opens it. Dulcea stands in the hallway, holding her staff.

TOMMY: "Dulcea? What are you doing here?"

DULCEA: "Zordon and I have been keeping an eye on things to make sure you're ready for what lies ahead. I came here to help you train."

Dulcea enters the room and walks over to the mat, as Kimberly gets up to her feet.

KIMBERLY: "How did you get in?"

DULCEA: "I teleported in from the eastern hall. Nobody saw me arrive."

ETHAN: "Well, you're not exactly going to train with us now, are you? I mean, dressed like that?"

Dulcea looks down at the skimpy Amazonian-type outfit she's wearing and then she looks back at Ethan, puzzled.

DULCEA: "Of course. Why not?"

ETHAN: "No, it's nothing. It's just...um... never mind."

DULCEA: "I'll work out with whoever would like to resume training. Who would like to begin first?"

ZACK: "I'll make an attempt."

Zack steps forward and holds up a padded bo staff. Dulcea gives him a puzzled look.

DULCEA: "I thought that you were training with weapons."

ZACK: "We are, but we don't want to hurt each other by accident when we do. It's just a precaution."

DULCEA: "As you wish. Shall we begin?"

ZACK: "Okay, then. I'll try to take this easy on you."

Zack takes a swipe at Dulcea with his padded bo, but Dulcea blocks the swipe with ease and quickly knocks his bo from his hand with ease. Before Zack can react, Dulcea swats her staff low and hits him behind his ankles. Zack falls, lands on his back, and Dulcea holds her staff down at his throat. Zack is stunned, while the other Rangers look on in surprise. Dulcea shakes her head.

DULCEA: "I'd say it was too easy."

She looks up at the other Rangers. Ethan points at Tommy and Jason.

ETHAN: "They're next."

Dulcea smirks and lifts her staff up from Zack's neck.

* * *

Later that night, Dulcea is training with Jason and she swats her staff at his padded bo. The two block one another's attacks, striking back and forth with neither one having an advantage. She blocks two more of Jason's attacks and then she stops. Dulcea lowers her staff and relaxes a bit.

DULCEA: "Good. That's enough for now."

Dulcea turns around and looks at the other seated Rangers. They look on, rather impressed.

DULCEA: "It's getting late. You should all go and get some rest."

KAT: "What about you? What are you going to do next?"

DULCEA: "Zordon and the others still need help at the Command Center. We're making more improvements and are recreating your Power Weapons. They should be ready by the time Domminnous and his forces arrive."

TOMMY: "Well, thank you for everything, Dulcea. You've been a big help."

DULCEA: "Should you require any more assistance with your training, I will come back to help you. But now, you should go back to your homes. I will see you all tomorrow. Good night, Rangers."

JASON: "Good night, Dulcea."

Dulcea takes a step back and closes her eyes. She teleports out of the room in a white streak of teleportation energy. The Rangers turn and walk to the exit doors.

* * *

The next day, on the moon, the two Dark Power Zords are parked and loom behind the large, long, wide Lunar Palace. The appearance of the Lunar Palace is identical to that of Rita's original palace, but it is twice as large.

Domminnous stands in the large, wide throne room, identical in appearance to Lord Zedd's original throne room in the original Lunar Palace, a.k.a. the Chamber of Command. Three thrones stand at the back wall of the room, with barred windows at the eastern wall and an enormous rotating fan. There is a balcony outside the front wall of the room, which faces the Earth. The throne room has two doorways, one at the front wall, which has several steps leading up to the balcony, and another in the west wall. Rita, Zedd, Rito, Goldar, Baboo, Squatt, the eight Putties, Finster and a Guard look around the room.

DOMMINNOUS: "So, what do you think of our new headquarters? I managed to set it up before I revived all of you, but I kept the interiors design of your original palace."

RITO: "Hey, check it out! Three thrones?!" (excitedly) "Ooh! Ooh! I call dibs on the middle one!"

RITA: "You wish! The thrones are for Zedd, Domminnous and I, bone-head!"

The front doors open and Scorpina walks into the room.

GOLDAR: "How much longer until the Zords finish charging back up to full power?"

SCORPINA: "The power supply is in the middle of recharging. They'll be ready soon."

DOMMINNOUS: "Well, we've waited four days to get here. We can afford to be patient for a while longer."

SCORPINA: "I also cleaned up inside the back of the Spider Zord. Finster got airsick during the flight back here."

Finster shrugs sheepishly and wipes his mouth with his sleeve.

FINSTER: "Sorry."

DOMMINNOUS: "Well, it was a long flight for all of us. Seemed longer to some of us more than others. Speaking of which, since we have much more space to move around in again..."

Domminnous turns around to the Guard and aims his staff at him. A purple beam of energy fires from the staff and hits the Guard. The Guard divides out into nine others, making ten Guards in all.

DOMMINNOUS: "And I'll bring back the others later, once my powers are fully restored."

BABOO: "Say, that's a neat trick!"

SQUATT: "Yeah, all this flying made me hungry! Which way is it to the fridge around here?"

Rita shakes her head and she moans.

RITA: "We've been here less than five minutes and already they're giving me a headache."

ZEDD: "Oh, be quiet, Rita! Now that we're off Drynnix, I can recharge my powers and create my own Z-Putties again!"

DOMMINNOUS: "For now, though, I suggest that we get ready for tonight. We've got a planet to conquer."

* * *

That night, in the Fitness Center's training room, Jason sits on the floor before a mat, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Jason is wearing a white tank top over a red T-shirt, red pants, a black belt with a gold buckle, and white sneakers with red shoelaces. Zack is wearing a purple vest over a black tank top and purple pants. Zack sits down beside Jason and hands him a bottle of Ozarka water.

ZACK: "Here. You wanna drink?"

JASON: "Sure. Thanks, man."

Jason opens the water bottle and sips it. Zack looks ahead, seeing Katherine and Ethan fighting with one another. Katherine is wearing a white T-shirt and yellow pants, while Ethan is wearing a white racerback tank top and blue jeans. Katherine blocks Ethan's kick to her gut and she steps back with a smile.

ETHAN: "Nice block."

KAT: "Thanks."

Katherine kicks at Ethan's chest, but he blocks it with his hands. Kat tries to punch at Ethan, but he blocks it and launches a high kick at Katherine. She blocks the kick in time and the two continue to train, blocking each other's pulled punches. Kimberly and Tommy sit at a bench nearby, looking on. Kimberly is wearing a black racerback tank top, pink shorts and black sneakers, while Tommy is wearing a green T-shirt with black stripes across the chest, long black pants and black sneakers with green laces.

ZACK: "Ethan's gotten pretty good while he's been training."

JASON: "He'll need to be ready. It's only a matter of time now before the Zords arrive."

ZACK: "Yeah, but we'll be ready for them."

JASON: "I know. Seems like old times, doesn't it?"

Zack nods and turns his head aside, looking away. Jason eyes Zack in confusion.

JASON: "Is something wrong?"

ZACK: (sighs) "Jase, there's something I need to tell you about..."

Zack is interrupted, as Jason's communicator beeps in a musical melody. Jason looks at Zack a moment and then he turns to the others.

JASON: "Guys, it's Zordon!"

Ethan and Kat stop training and turn to Jason. Kimberly and Tommy stand up and walk over to Jason. Jason rises to his feet and pushes the top button of his communicator.

JASON: "We read you, Zordon."

ZORDON: (on communicator) "Rangers, we have detected the presence of Domminnous, the Dark Zords and the others on their new palace on the moon."

The six adults exchange looks of concern.

KAT: "And then they make their way here to Earth."

JASON: "But if they're on the moon, why haven't they landed on Earth yet?"

ZORDON: (on communicator) "Our sensors indicate the Dark Power Zords are currently recharging."

* * *

In the Command Center, Alpha and Ionisos stand by the controls, while Dulcea looks over at Zordon. Zordon looks at the western control stand, with the speaker turned on.

ZORDON: "Their power cells must have been depleted in power after their flight from Drynnix. But when the Zords reach full power again, they will likely fly down to Angel Grove and start their attack."

* * *

Back in the training room, Kimberly looks down at her own communicator and she pushes her finger on the talk button.

ZORDON: (on communicator) "I have estimated that the Dark Zords will reach full power within an hour."

KIMBERLY: "We'll be ready for when they arrive. Thanks, Zordon."

Kimberly lets go of the button on her communicator, as does Jason. Tommy looks at the others grimly and he shrugs.

TOMMY: "I guess all we can do now is wait."


	14. Chapter 14

In the throne room of the new Lunar Palace, Rita sits on the middle throne, with Zedd seated on the throne to her left and Domminnous seated on the throne to her right. The doors open and Rito walks into the room to join the others.

RITO: "Hey, sis, isn't it time yet for those Zords to go down?"

RITA: "Finster said they'll be ready in another twenty minutes."

RITO: "Aw, man! Can't we speed it up a bit? This wait's killing me, sis!"

Zedd sits back on his throne, groaning.

ZEDD: "If only."

RITO: "I'm bored out of my skull, sis! There's nothing to do up here!"

Domminnous grins and he rises to his feet.

DOMMINNOUS: "Maybe there's something we can do to pass the time."

Domminnous walks down the room and stands before the large telescope at the far wall, before the window facing the Earth.

ZEDD: "What exactly do you have in mind, Domminnous?"

DOMMINNOUS: "I'll send Rito down to do a little assignment for me."

ZEDD: "You want Rito to leave? I love the idea already!"

Domminnous looks into the telescope and he smiles.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those former Rangers are at the Fitness Center."

Domminnous turns around to Rito.

DOMMINNOUS: "Why don't you take Scorpina and Goldar with you? I'm sure they'd like to join you for a little reunion."

RITO: "You got it."

Rito turns around and he leaves the room.

* * *

Back in the training room, Jason and Ethan stand on a mat and resume training. Kimberly sits on a bench with Katherine, while Tommy and Zack walk into the room with a bottle of water in their hands. Tommy stops, as he hears a faint crackle in the hall. Tommy turns around and looks out into the hallway. Tommy looks to the left and sees nothing. Tommy looks to the right and sees that side of the hall is empty. Tommy steps back, puzzled.

TOMMY: "Huh. That was weird."

Tommy turns around, as he notices the others looking at him.

KAT: "What was that noise?"

Tommy shakes his head and walks down into the room. Zack walks down the room and over to Jason.

TOMMY: "I'm not sure. That was -"

Tommy stops, as he notices Katherine looking at him nervously.

KAT: (calls out) "Tommy!"

Tommy turns around, just as Rito, Goldar and Scorpina enter the room.

RITO: "Surprise!"

Rito backhands Tommy, sending him flying down the room. Tommy lands on his back on a mat, dazed. Tommy grunts as he hits the floor. Katherine and Kimberly stand up from the bench and they quickly run over to Tommy.

KAT: "Are you okay?"

TOMMY: "I'm all right."

GOLDAR: "Not for long!"

Katherine and Kimberly help Tommy up to his feet, while Jason and Ethan get off the mat and follow Zack down the room. The six stand together, looking at the three enemies before them.

RITO: "We got bored waiting for the Zords to finish charging, so we decided to come out to play until then."

Jason turns around and looks at the back doors.

JASON: "We can't fight in here, so let's take it outside!"

Jason quickly spins around and kicks Rito on the side of his head. Rito is knocked aside by the kick and collides onto Goldar and Scorpina. The three fall to the floor, with Rito lying on top of them.

GOLDAR: (grunts) "Get off of us, you moron!"

Jason runs to the back doors and open them, with Kimberly and Kat running outside.

KIMBERLY: "Where're we going?"

JASON: "I have an idea. Come on!"

TOMMY: "Let's go!"

Tommy follows Zack and Ethan outside, as Goldar and Scorpina shove Rito off of them. Jason runs out of the doorway, as the three villains get up to their feet.

GOLDAR: "Fools! After them!"

Goldar runs to the doorway and Rito and Scorpina follow Goldar outside.

* * *

Jason runs away from the Fitness Center, with the others following him. They run across the street to a sidewalk and through an open fence, to the large construction site ahead. The construction area is mostly vacant, with a half-finished building looming ahead.

JASON: "Come on! This way!"

The others follow Jason down onto the dirt ground and they stand near one of the small hills of piled dirt.

ETHAN: "The construction site?"

TOMMY: "I get it. There's plenty of room around here to fight."

KIMBERLY: "And with the workers gone for the night, there's nobody around to get hurt."

Goldar, Rito and Scorpina enter through the fence and approach the six unmorphed Rangers ahead.

GOLDAR: "How considerate."

Jason turns to the three evil space aliens and sneers.

JASON: "We don't have to do this."

RITO: "But we want to. You were easy pickings last time."

TOMMY: "We couldn't fight back on Drynnix. Somebody could've gotten hurt if we had."

Scorpina snaps her fingers and the ten Guards appear in bursts of indigo smoke. Each Guard has a trident in their hands. Scorpina grins.

SCORPINA: "Well, we're all alone now. There are no bystanders to get in the way. Let's see how well you can defend yourselves this time."

The Guards charge at the six.

JASON: "Spread out, guys, and take them down!"

The six split up and run off to different parts of the construction site. Guard #1 reaches Jason and strikes the trident at his chest. Jason crouches under the trident and lets out a karate yell as he kicks his right leg low, hitting the guard behind the ankles. Jason's kick knocks the Guard off his feet and to the floor. Guard #2 approaches from behind, but Jason gets to his feet, turns around and lets out a karate yell as he kicks his left leg high. The kick knocks Guard #2 to the floor.

While Jason resumes his own fights in the background, Tommy rolls away as Guard #3 stabs his trident into the ground. Tommy gets to one knee and turns around, seeing Guard #3 aiming his trident at him. Katherine approaches from behind and kicks at Guard #3. Katherine's foot hits the center of the Guard's back and he staggers forward, going over Tommy's back. Guard #3 falls off of Tommy and he lands on the floor. Tommy gets up to his feet and turns around to Katherine with a smile.

TOMMY: "Thanks, Kat."

Guard #3 gets up to his feet, his foot scraping loose dirt aside. Tommy and Katherine look over at the Guard behind him and he jabs the trident at Tommy's chest. Tommy leans back and the trident misses him, going over his face by inches. Tommy grabs the long handle of the trident and pulls it out of the Guard's grip. Tommy leans up and quickly jabs the trident onto the Guard's own chest, the jolt from it knocking him to the floor. Katherine turns around and sees Guard #4 approach her, holding an energy whip in his hand.

KAT: "Tommy, hand me the trident!"

Tommy turns to Kat and hands her the trident. Katherine turns to the Guard, as he flicks the whip at her. Kat holds up the trident and the whip wraps around the handle instead. Kat pulls on the trident and tugs the whip out of the Guard's hand. Guard #4 grabs his own trident from the holster in his back and swats it at Katherine. Katherine blocks his trident with her own and they fight back and forth. Katherine blocks the attacks of Guard #4's trident with her own trident.

While Tommy fights with another Guard in the background, Guard #4 swats his trident at Katherine. She moves aside and lets out a karate yell as she jabs the trident's end onto his chest, shoving Guard #4 to the ground with a jolt.

Elsewhere, Tommy lets out a karate yell as he punches Guard #5 to the floor. He turns around and sees Goldar approach him, holding his sword. Tommy crouches down, picks up the trident lying on the floor by his now-unconscious opponent and he gets back up to his feet.

GOLDAR: "We're not done yet!"

TOMMY: "Didn't think we were."

Tommy holds up the trident and blocks Goldar's swing with his sword with it. Tommy and Goldar swat their weapons at the other's, blocking each other's attacks.

Elsewhere, Guard #6 is already fighting with Kimberly. Kimberly blocks his punch to her face and punches her free hand across his face. The Guard staggers back a few steps and then regains his balance. Kimberly turns around and sees Guard #7 charging at her from behind. Guard #6 charges at Kimberly and she back flips, her feet hitting Guard #6 under his chin and the impact knocks him off his feet. As Guard #6 hits the floor, Kimberly lands and immediately does a second back flip. With her hands on the floor, Kimberly leans back diagonally and puts her legs together. As she does, Kimberly kicks her feet onto the face of the approaching Guard #7. The kick knocks Guard #7 off his feet and to the floor.

As Guard #7 hits the floor, Kimberly lands on her feet and turns around. Kimberly looks at Guard #6, lying unconscious on the floor. She looks up as Scorpina appears and stands several feet before her. Scorpina pulls out the jagged sword sheathed behind her back and grins. Scorpina eyes the flesh-covered, healed whip slash down Kimberly's right shoulder beside her tank top strap.

SCORPINA: "I'm not done cutting you up yet."

Scorpina charges at Kimberly and Kimberly rolls on the floor at her. With her hands on the floor, Kimberly lifts her body up parallel to the floor and lets out a karate yell as she kicks her right leg up high. Her foot hits Scorpina on the chest, and the impact knocks Scorpina back and she hits the floor. Kimberly gets to up her feet and gets into a defensive stance as Scorpina stands up.

SCORPINA: "Bad move."

KIMBERLY: "Yeah. Usually you're much tougher than this."

Scorpina sneers and swats the sword at Kimberly again. Kimberly leans aside and then Scorpina slashes again. Kimberly crouches down under the sword, barely missing the blade. Kimberly stands up, just as Scorpina slashes at her again. Kimberly puts out her hands and grabs the blade of the sword with her hands, stopping it just inches in front of her face. Kimberly kicks Scorpina on the gut and she lets go of the sword. Kimberly throws the sword away and charges at Scorpina. Scorpina spins in place and backhands Kimberly across the jaw, knocking her aside. Kimberly turns around, just as Scorpina punches at her face. Kimberly blocks the punch and punches Scorpina across the jaw.

Meanwhile, Jason fights one of the Guards in the background, Ethan kicks Guard #7 on the face and knocks him aside. Guard #7 turns to face Ethan and delivers a right cross to Ethan's jaw. Ethan staggers back from the hit and the Guard grins. Guard #7 punches at Ethan again, but Ethan blocks it and punches his free hand across the Guard's face. The Guard staggers back and then punches at Ethan's head. Ethan ducks under the blow and then he quickly strikes his right arm up. Ethan uppercuts the Guard under the chin and Guard #7 falls to the floor. He lands unconscious before Rito's feet. Rito holds up his own sword, made of jagged bone.

RITO: "Not bad, for a newbie."

Rito swats his sword at Ethan, but he ducks under the blade and it misses the top of his head by inches. Ethan stands up and Rito slashes his sword at Ethan's chest again and again. However, Ethan moves back out of reach from the blade each time. Finally, before Rito can swing his sword again, Ethan quickly tackles Rito to the floor. Both men hit the ground, with Rito dropping his sword. The two wrestle around on the floor for a few moments, until Rito finally and easily shoves Ethan off with his foot. Ethan lands on the floor and then he scrambles to his feet. Rito also stands and charges at Ethan, his hand made into a fist. When Rito is close enough to Ethan, he tries to punch Ethan. However, Ethan strikes first as he kicks his right leg forward. His foot hits Rito's chest and the impact knocks him back a few steps.

Elsewhere, Zack kicks Guard #8 away and he lands on top of the small hill of piled dirt. Zack turns around, just as Guard #9 punches him across the jaw. Zack staggers back and Guard #9 punches at him again. Zack blocks the punch and uppercuts Guard #9 under his chin. The impact from Zack's hit knocks Guard #9 off his feet and to the floor. Zack turns around to Guard #8, as he gets up and grabs his trident. Zack lets out a nervous grin.

ZACK: "Y' know, it's never too late for us to be friends, right?"

Guard #8 sneers and charges at Zack. Zack jumps at Guard #8 and lets out a karate yell as he kicks his left leg out. Zack's foot strikes Guard #8 on his chest and knocks him backwards. Guard #8 lands on the pile of dirt again and rolls down off of it to the floor. Guard #9 gets to his feet, holding up his club, and he turns to face Zack. Zack turns around to Guard #9 and sees Jason grab him by the shoulders from behind. Jason leans back with the Guard and lands on his back to the floor. As Jason hits the floor, he puts his foot on the Guard's gut and lets out a karate yell as he flips him over his body with it. With the Guard thrown over and behind Jason, he lands hard on his front to the floor. The Guard lies unconscious and Jason stands up.

ZACK: "Thanks. What about the last Guard?"

Jason points in the distance at Guard #10, lying unconscious on the floor in a crumpled heap by his fallen trident.

JASON: "Who, him?"

Zack grins and he high-fives Jason. Jason turns around, noticing the other fights around the area. Katherine is helping Tommy against Goldar.

JASON: "Let's get the others together."

ZACK: "Right. Go help Kim. I got Ethan's back."

Jason nods and runs off to Kimberly, as Zack runs over to Ethan.

Rito blocks Ethan's punch and strikes his knee against Ethan's gut, knocking him back a few steps. Rito is about to punch Ethan, when Zack lets out a karate cry as he jumps at Rito and he kicks his leg out. Zack's foot hits Rito on his side, knocking him off his feet and to the floor. Zack lands on his feet and then goes over to Ethan.

ETHAN: "Thanks."

ZACK: "Come on. Follow me."

Ethan and Zack run off down the large construction site and Rito gets to his feet.

RITO: "Hey, get back here! I'm not done beating up on you yet!"

* * *

In the Lunar Palace's throne room, Rita looks down at Earth through her telescope, while Zedd stands beside her. Domminnous stands by his own gray telescope near the window, grinning. Zedd's visor shines with red light as he uses his telescopic vision to look at the Earth.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those humans are doing well so far, but their good luck won't last."

Zedd's visor stops shining and he turns to Domminnous.

ZEDD: "Don't underestimate them. They may not have any powers, but they've been able to beat our forces before, even when they weren't morphed."

RITA: "We should send down the other Guards."

DOMMINNOUS: "Why bother? The Zords are almost ready. They'll be crushed soon enough. They're about to see the end of their city...and there's not a single thing they can do to stop it."

Zedd looks back at the Earth and his visor shines with red light as he uses his telescopic vision. He had a feeling that something wasn't right.


	15. Chapter 15

Back at the construction site, Kimberly kicks at Scorpina, but she ducks under her foot. While crouched, Scorpina spins in place and kicks her leg out, hitting behind Kimberly's feet. The foot sweep kick knocks Kimberly down and she lands on her back on the dirt floor. Kimberly grunts as she hits the ground. Scorpina grins and stands, kicking her foot down at Kimberly. Kimberly blocks the kick with her hands and she shoves Scorpina's foot back. Jason finally reaches the two ladies and he jumps at Scorpina, kicking his leg out. Jason's foot hits Scorpina on her gut, knocking her to the floor. Jason lands on his feet and takes Kimberly's hand, lifting her up to her feet.

KIMBERLY: "Thanks, sweetie."

JASON: "No problem. Come on. We're regrouping."

Kimberly nods and runs off with Jason, heading to Tommy's direction. Scorpina sneers as she stands and follows after them.

SCORPINA: "Get back here, cowards!"

Goldar swats his sword at Tommy and he blocks it with the trident.

GOLDAR: "You can't stop me!"

Kat swats a club at Goldar from behind, knocking it against his side. Goldar staggers aside in pain.

KAT: "Wanna bet?"

Goldar turns around and swats his sword at Kat. Kat blocks the sword with her club and Tommy kicks Goldar on his side, knocking him back. Goldar staggers back and sneers, as Tommy goes over to Kat.

TOMMY: "Thanks for the assist."

Jason and Kimberly run to Tommy from one side of the site, while Ethan and Zack approach from another. They finally reach Tommy and Kat and stand behind them.

ZACK: "Is this guy giving you two some trouble?"

TOMMY: "Nothing we can't handle."

JASON: "True. But it's almost time for the Zords to reach here. We should get ready."

Rito and Scorpina stop running as they reach the six gathered friends. The six Rangers step back, away from Goldar, Scorpina and Rito.

RITO: "You can't run from us. We've got you now."

JASON: "I don't think so. Are you ready, guys?"

KIMBERLY: "Ready!"

SCORPINA: "Ready for what?"

Jason eyes the monsters sternly, as Jason and his friends all reach their right hands back into their back pants pocket at the same time. The six Rangers grab their Power Morpher cases kept in their back pants pocket with their right hand.

JASON: "_It's Morphin' Time!_"

To the surprise of the three villains, the six Rangers quickly put their arms out forward, holding their Morphers in their hands and they push the buttons on the sides of the cases.

TOMMY: "Dragonzord!"

ZACK: "Mastodon!"

KIMBERLY: "Pterodactyl!"

ETHAN: "Triceratops!"

KATHERINE: "Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

JASON: "_Tyrannosaurus!_"

After Jason calls out the dinosaur name, all of the Power Coins shine and emit a glow of white light instantly over the six friends. When the light quickly disappears, the six are instantly wearing their respective Power Ranger outfits. Jason's Power Ranger outfit is Red, Kimberly's outfit is Pink, Tommy's is Green, Katherine's is Yellow, Ethan's Blue and Zack's Black. Each of the Rangers' helmets has the design of the face of their respective dinosaur coin characters. The Ranger costumes are made of spandex with white gloves, white boots, and a white belt. A white diamond is on the chest of each Ranger suit, with two diamonds on either side that go around the sides and connect on the back of the costumes. Side by side diamonds are on the top of the gloves and boots, in the color of their Ranger suit. Tommy wears a golden shield of armor, the Dragon Shield, over the chest of his Green Ranger suit. Each Rangers' Power Morpher is now over the buckle of their belts. On the left side of each Ranger's belt a holster with a white Blade Blaster gun kept in it. Each Ranger gets into a defensive stance. The three villains step back, startled by the metamorphosis.

RITO: "Oh, crap."

GOLDAR: "What?! This - this is _impossible!_"

* * *

In the Lunar Palace's throne room, Zedd turns away to a shocked Domminnous and Rita, with red hot light burning in his visor.

ZEDD: "No! How could this have happened?!"

RITA: "I don't believe it! How did they get those power coins? Their powers were gone forever!"

Before he could speak up, Zedd suddenly looks away and he looks at the Earth. Zedd clutches his staff tightly with one hand, groaning from a sudden wave of pain.

RITA: "What's wrong with_ you?_"

ZEDD: "Wait...I sense a detection in the _Morphing Grid_. A strong surge of incredible power..." (pauses) "I've never felt anything like it! It must have been activated when the Rangers morphed."

RITA: "_What?_ The Morphing Grid? How is that possible?"

Zedd keeps staring at the Earth. He had a pretty good idea what had happened.

ZEDD: (growls) "It seems that we weren't the _only_ ones to be revived."

* * *

Back at the construction site, Scorpina, Goldar and Rito step back as they stare at the morphed Power Rangers.

BLACK RANGER: "What's wrong, guys? Getting nervous?"

GOLDAR: "You think getting your powers back is going to scare us?"

Rito shrugs and turns to Goldar.

RITO: "Well, now that you mention it..."

SCORPINA: (snaps) "Oh, _shut up!_"

Scorpina charges at the Rangers in frustration and Pink Ranger gets out of her stance, leaping at her. Pink Ranger kicks her foot out and hits Scorpina on her chest. The kick sends Scorpina flying back a few dozen feet. Pink Ranger lands crouched and Scorpina grunts as she hits the ground, hard. Pink Ranger looks at her hands and then turns to the others, standing up.

PINK RANGER: "Whoa! I've... I've never felt anything like this before!"

BLUE RANGER: "I - I feel it, and I still can't believe it! This is incredible! This..."

Blue Ranger looks down at his costume... and couldn't believe what he was wearing.

BLUE RANGER: "... is spandex."

RED RANGER: "Don't worry, it's tougher than it looks."

Blue Ranger looks back at the villains. Rito holds up his sword, as Goldar holds up his own sword. Scorpina gets to her feet and she draws her sword, holding in her hands.

GOLDAR: "Powers or no powers, you're going down!"

Blue Ranger notices the villains' weapons and steps back next to Red Ranger.

BLUE RANGER: "So, what's the plan, Red Ranger?"

RED RANGER: "We split up into teams. Kim, you and Kat handle Scorpina. Zack, you and Ethan take on Rito. Tommy, care to help me take on Goldar?"

GREEN RANGER: "Sounds fine with me, Ja - er, Red Ranger."

GOLDAR: "Enough talk! Let's get them!"

Goldar charges at the Rangers and Red Ranger holds up his right hand to the air.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword!"

From a crackle of red energy, a sword with a silver blade and red hilt - the Power Sword - appears in Red Ranger's hand and he holds onto it tight. Green Ranger draws his green-handled Dragon Dagger with a silver blade from the holster on the right side of his belt.

GREEN RANGER: "Let's do it!"

The Red and Green Rangers charge at Goldar, as Rito charges at the Blue and Black Rangers. Scorpina charges at the Yellow and Pink Rangers, as Goldar clashes swords with Red Ranger. Goldar kicks Red Ranger away and then turns to Green Ranger, clashing his sword with Tommy's Dragon Dagger.

Rito, meanwhile, slashes his sword at Blue Ranger and he moves aside. Blue Ranger spins around and kicks his leg high, hitting Rito on the side of his head. Rito regains his balance, as Black Ranger holds up his hands.

BLACK RANGER: "Power Axe!"

A crackle of black energy shines over Black Ranger's hand and the long handle of a wide black axe appears in his hand. Rito swats his sword across Blue Ranger's chest, making a spark on his armor plated chest. The blow knocks Blue Ranger back, but doesn't cut him. Rito swats his sword at Blue Ranger again and Black Ranger quickly gets in front of his friend. Black Ranger holds up his axe and blocks Rito's slash with his sword.

BLACK RANGER: "Back off, bone-head!"

Black Ranger kicks Rito on the chest, knocking him back, and Blue Ranger holds up his hands.

BLUE RANGER: "Um... what the blazes was it called again?"

BLACK RANGER: "Power Lance!"

BLUE RANGER: "Right! Power Lance!"

There is a crackle of blue energy and long blue lance appears from thin air, held in Blue Ranger's hands. Blue Ranger eyes his Power Lance a moment, impressed by its sudden appearance.

BLUE RANGER: "Huh. It's lighter than I thought it'd be."

Rito slashes his sword at Black Ranger, but he blocks it with his axe. Rito tries again and slashes his sword over Black Ranger's armored chest, making a spark from the impact. Black Ranger steps back and Rito slashes the sword again on Black Ranger's gut, the impact making another spark off of his suit. BLACK RANGER GRUNTS and staggers back from the hit. Rito slashes again, but Blue Ranger swats him from behind with the lance and the hit knocks Rito to the ground.

BLACK RANGER: "Nice hit."

BLUE RANGER: "Thanks."

Blue Ranger turns around and looks at two approaching Guards from behind.

BLUE RANGER: "We've got more company."

Black Ranger looks over as Rito gets up to his feet and he holds up his sword.

BLACK RANGER: "Think you can handle the guards?"

BLUE RANGER: "What about you?"

Rito slashes his sword at Black Ranger and he blocks Rito's blade with his Power Axe.

BLACK RANGER: "Go on! I've got Rito!"

Blue Ranger turns around and sees Guard #1 approach, drawing his energy whip. He lashes it at Blue Ranger and he flips back, out of the lash's reach.

BLUE RANGER: "All right! I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Blue Ranger charges and leaps ahead, kicking his left leg out. Blue Ranger's jump kick hits Guard #1 on the chest, knocking him back about a dozen feet. As the Guard hits the floor, Blue Ranger lands on all fours and looks up at the approaching Guard #2. Guard #2 holds up his trident and swats it at Blue Ranger, but he blocks it with his Power Lance. Blue Ranger then kicks Guard #2 across the jaw, knocking him down to the floor. Blue Ranger steps back, a bit surprised.

BLUE RANGER: "Wow. I think I'm getting the hang of this super-hero thing."

Guard #3, as well as Guards 4 to 6, approach Blue Ranger, each armed with their own tridents.

GUARD #3: "Hey!"

Blue Ranger turns around and is hit on the chest by Guard #3's trident. Blue Ranger staggers back and rubs his chest, as the two fallen Guards get to their feet. Blue Ranger gets into a defensive stance as he glances at his opponents.

BLUE RANGER: "Oh, great."

At another part of the construction site, Scorpina is already fighting with the Pink and Yellow Rangers. Yellow Ranger kicks her left leg out and hits her foot on Scorpina's stomach. Scorpina staggers back and then she blocks Yellow Ranger's next kick. Scorpina slashes her sword across Yellow Ranger's armored chest and the hit makes a spark on the armored suit. Yellow Ranger staggers back, unhurt, and Scorpina slashes again. Yellow Ranger ducks under the blade, while Pink Ranger leaps at Scorpina and tackles her down to the floor. Scorpina and Pink Ranger wrestle around on the floor for a few minutes, knocking the sword from Scorpina's hand. Scorpina finally kicks the Pink Ranger off of her and then kicks her leg low, hitting Pink Ranger behind her ankles. The foot sweep knocks Pink Ranger down to the floor.

Scorpina gets to her feet and stomps her foot down at Pink Ranger, but she rolls away and Scorpina's foot hits the floor instead, cracking it. Yellow Ranger runs over to Pink Ranger and Scorpina, as the Pink Ranger gets up to her feet. Scorpina kicks Pink Ranger's chest, pushing her back, and then she kicks her left leg at her head. Pink Ranger grabs her foot with her hand and stops it. Scorpina tries to lean her foot closer to her head, nearing the dark visor over Pink Ranger's eyes. Yellow Ranger gets to Scorpina and kicks her foot low, hitting Scorpina behind her right leg. Pink Ranger lets go of Scorpina's foot as she falls to the floor. Pink Ranger looks up at Yellow Ranger.

PINK RANGER: "Thanks for the assist."

YELLOW RANGER: "Any time."

Pink Ranger pauses and turns around. She sees the other four Guards run to them from the distance.

PINK RANGER: "The Guards are coming back. Do you think you can take care of them?"

YELLOW RANGER: "What about Scorpina?"

PINK RANGER: "I can handle her. Go on."

Yellow Ranger nods and she runs off to the Guards. Scorpina gets to her feet and grins at Pink Ranger.

SCORPINA: "Alone at last."

Scorpina charges at Pink Ranger and she punches at her. Pink Ranger blocks the punch and punches her right fist at Scorpina, hitting her across the jaw.

Meanwhile, Goldar resumes fighting with the Red and Green Rangers. Goldar kicks Red Ranger on his gut and knocks him back. Goldar slashes his sword at Red Ranger again, but he blocks it with his Blade Blaster sword. Goldar kicks Red Ranger on the gut, knocking him aside. Goldar turns around, just as Green Ranger kicks his foot ahead. His kick hits Goldar on the face, knocking him back. Goldar sneers and swats his sword at Green Ranger, but he blocks it with his Dragon Dagger. Goldar kicks Green Ranger on the chest and knocks him back a few steps. Goldar turns around and he sees Red Ranger approaching. Goldar slashes his sword at Red Ranger's head, but he blocks it with his sword. Red Ranger uses his sword to push Goldar's back. Goldar sneers and blocks Red Ranger's slash with his sword. Goldar slashes his sword across Red Ranger's chest, making a spark upon impact. Red Ranger staggers back from the slash and Goldar raises his arm to strike again.

Green Ranger leaps from behind and kicks his left leg out. Green Ranger's foot hits Goldar on his back. The impact of the kick knocks Goldar forward and towards Red Ranger. Red Ranger uppercuts his right fist and hits Goldar under the chin and knocking him off his feet. Goldar hits the floor, while Green Ranger stands up from behind. Goldar scrambles to his feet and turns to Green Ranger, blocking his punch. Goldar kicks Green Ranger on his chest, knocking him back a few steps. Goldar kicks Green Ranger on the gut and the hit knocks him down to the floor.

RED RANGER: "_Green Ranger!_"

Green Ranger gets to his feet, as Goldar slashes his sword at him. Green Ranger blocks it with his Dragon Dagger and resumes fighting with Goldar.

GREEN RANGER: "It's okay, man. I'm fine."

GOLDAR: "Not for long!"

Goldar blocks Green Ranger's slash with his dagger and kicks him back. Red Ranger moves in to attack, but is confronted by two Putties. But these are not the same Putties that were on Drynnix. Instead, they wear gray vests with a gray Z on the chest. These are Zedd's Z-PUTTIES.

GREEN RANGER: "Z-Putties? Looks like Zedd decided to send some back-up!"

RED RANGER: "Oh, man! Just what we didn't need!"

The two Putties fight with Red Ranger, but he blocks their attacks with ease. Red Ranger kicks Putty #1 on the chest and knocks him aside. Red Ranger gives a KARATE YELL as he slashes his sword on Putty #2's stomach and the Putty hits the ground. Putty #1 kicks Red Ranger's chest and he staggers back a few steps. Putty #1 lets loose a high kick, but Red Ranger blocks it and sends the Putty down with a high kick. With the Z-Putties down, Red Ranger turns his attention to Goldar.

Elsewhere, Green Ranger continues to block Goldar's sword attacks with his Dagger. Goldar slashes across the diamond of his golden Dragon Shield and Green Ranger staggers back, but he is unhurt. Goldar turns around and sees Red Ranger slash his Blade Blaster sword at him. Goldar blocks it with his sword and resumes sword fighting with Red Ranger. Goldar slashes at Red Ranger's chest with his sword, but he blocks it with his Blade Blaster sword.

Elsewhere, Blue Ranger is dueling with the Guards. Only Guards 2 and 3 are standing. Blue Ranger delivers a roundhouse kick that knocks Guard #2 down and renders him unconscious. Guard #3 jabs his trident at Blue Ranger, but he catches the trident and delivers a punch that knocks Guard #3 down. He hits the ground, unconscious. Blue Ranger looks at his gloved hands, shocked by what he's done.

BLUE RANGER: "Wow. I didn't even punch them that hard."

Blue Ranger looks up and notices a small group of Z-Putties approaching him, fast.

BLUE RANGER: "These must be those Z-Putties Zordon was telling me about."

Blue Ranger kicks one Z-Putty back and he knocks him onto another Z-Putty, sending both falling to the floor. Blue Ranger turns around, as another Z-Putty punches at him. The punch hits Blue Ranger in the gut and he staggers back.

BLUE RANGER: "Oh, man! These guys are tougher than I thought."

Blue Ranger ducks under the Z-Putty's high kick and punches at the Z-Putty's face. It dodges the punch and knocks Blue Ranger back a few steps with a kick to the ribs. The Z-Putty punches at Blue Ranger, but he blocks the punch and he turns to Black Ranger, who is still fighting with Rito.

BLUE RANGER: "Black Ranger, duck!"

Black Ranger turns around and looks at Blue Ranger. Black Ranger quickly ducks, as Blue Ranger grabs the Z-Putty by his arm and turns, throwing him away. Rito looks up, as the thrown Z-Putty flies at his direction. Before he can move, the Z-Putty collides onto Rito and both are sent crashing to the ground.

RITO: "Not again!"

Black Ranger turns around, just as Blue Ranger sends the last Z-Putty down with a high kick.

BLACK RANGER: "Thanks, man."

Elsewhere, Yellow Ranger blocks Guard #7's punch to her face and punches him across the jaw. Guard #8 approaches from behind and jabs his trident onto her back, with electric sparks hitting off her armored back. Yellow Ranger staggers forward and turns around to the Guard. Yellow Ranger quickly holds out her open hands.

YELLOW RANGER: "Power Daggers!"

A crackle of yellow energy runs over Yellow Ranger's palms and a pair of daggers with yellow handles appears in her hands. The Guard strikes the trident at Yellow Ranger again, but she dodges and lets out a battle cry as she hits him across his armored chest with her Power Dagger. Guard #8 is knocked off his feet and falls to the floor. Guard #10 approaches Yellow Ranger and he jabs his trident at her. She blocks it with her Power Daggers and struggles to push the trident back with them. Yellow Ranger turns her head around and looks over her shoulder at Guard #9 behind her. He flicks his energy whip at Yellow Ranger, but she ducks under it and the whip hits across the armored chest of Guard #10 instead. The hit knocks the Guard down and he falls to the floor. Yellow Ranger turns around to see Guard #7 strike his club. Yellow Ranger blocks the club with one hand and she punches her free hand out. Her fist hits the Guard across his jaw and knocks him down.

Meanwhile, Pink Ranger blocks Scorpina's kick to her head and steps back. Scorpina grabs Pink Ranger's throat with one hand, trying to choke her.

SCORPINA: "You can't stop us this time, Pink Ranger!"

Pink Ranger grabs Scorpina's hand and pulls it off her neck. She punches Scorpina across the jaw and knocks her back.

PINK RANGER: "Uh-huh. Heard it before."

Scorpina sneers and charges at Pink Ranger. Pink Ranger leaps at Scorpina and kicks her legs at her one at a time, her feet hitting Scorpina's chest five times in rapid succession. The final kick knocks Scorpina backwards, sent flying a few dozen feet. Scorpina hits the small hill of piled dirt back-first and falls to the floor, dazed. She tries to get to her feet, but Pink Ranger quickly draws her Blade Blaster from her belt's holster and sets the Blaster into gun mode.

PINK RANGER: "Hey, don't you ever stay down?"

Pink Ranger fires a red energy beam from her Blade Blaster and it hits Scorpina's stomach. The beam knocks Scorpina down and she hits the ground. Pink Ranger sets her Blade Blaster back in her belt's holster, as distant grunts become audible to her. Pink Ranger turns around and she watches as the Green and Red Rangers duel with Goldar. Pink Ranger holds out her hands.

PINK RANGER: "Power Bow!"

A flash of pink energy hits over Pink Ranger's palms and a stack of arrows appears in her left hand. In her right hand, Pink Ranger is holding her white and pink Power Bow. Pink Ranger takes two of the arrows and pulls them back in the Power Bow, as Goldar kicks Red Ranger to the ground. Pink Ranger aims them at Goldar, as he slashes his sword at Green Ranger. Green Ranger quickly blocks Goldar's sword with his Dragon Dagger, as Red Ranger gets to his feet nearby.

PINK RANGER: (calls out) "Green Ranger, get down!"

Green Ranger turns around and quickly gets down, as Goldar raises his sword to strike. Pink Ranger lets go of the arrows, which glow with pink energy, and they shoot forward. The arrows hit Goldar's chest, raising sparks off his armored suit. Goldar grunts from the hit as he falls to the floor. Green Ranger turns and stands up, waving at Pink Ranger.

GREEN RANGER: (calls out) "Nice shot! Thanks!"

PINK RANGER: (yells) "Any time!"

Meanwhile, Yellow Ranger blocks Z-Putty #5's punch to her face. In retaliation, she punches him across the jaw. Z-Putty #6 approaches from behind and kicks her on her back. Yellow Ranger staggers forward and turns around to Z-Putty #6. Z-Putty #6 punches at her again, but she dodges it and lets loose a kick to the Z-Putty's ribs. The kick pushes him back a few steps and Yellow Ranger lets out a karate yell as she lets loose a high kick that knocks him to the ground. Yellow Ranger turns around to see Putty #7 charging at her from a distance. She draws her Blade Blaster, which is in gun mode, and she fires a red beam at Putty #7. The beam hits him on the chest, just below the Z, and knocks Z-Putty #7 down. Yellow Ranger holsters her Blaster, and she turns around to face Putty #8. Z-Putty #8 kicks her on her gut before she can react and Yellow Ranger staggers back a few steps. Z-Putty #8 punches at her again, but she blocks the punch and she lets loose a left hook that knocks Putty #8 to the ground.

Meanwhile, Pink Ranger continues to fight with Scorpina. Scorpina kicks the Power Bow out of Pink Ranger's right hand and then she kicks Pink Ranger on the abdomen. Pink Ranger staggers back a few steps, but isn't hurt. Pink Ranger ducks under Scorpina's high kick and then she delivers a foot sweep kick at her ankles. Scorpina jumps over the foot sweep kick, flips over Pink Ranger and lands on her feet. She kicks at Pink Ranger, but she blocks Scorpina's kick and gets up to her feet. Scorpina slashes her sword at Pink Ranger, but she barely dodges the attack. Pink Ranger pulls out her Blade Blaster, switches it to sword mode, and quickly blocks Scorpina's sword when she attacks again. Scorpina knees Pink Ranger on the gut and knocks her to the ground. Scorpina charges and slashes her sword at Pink Ranger. At the last second, Pink Ranger rolls away and the sword stabs into the ground. Pink Ranger rolls over to her Power Bow, picks it up and Scorpina's eyes widen in shock. Pink Ranger gives a karate cry as she fires an arrow from her Power Bow and it hits Scorpina's armored sternum. The impact knocks Scorpina down and she hits the ground, hard.


	16. Chapter 16

Back in the Lunar Palace's throne room, Lord Zedd makes his hands into fists and looks at Rita and Domminnous.

RITA: "Still think the Rangers are so easy to defeat?"

Domminnous just smiles at Rita and Zedd.

DOMMINNOUS: "So, these humans are more troublesome than I once thought. But let them have their little victory. It won't last."

The doors to the room open and Finster walks in.

FINSTER: "The Zords have finished recharging and are awaiting your command."

DOMMINNOUS: "Excellent. Let's send them down to crush those meddling Rangers and their pitiful little city."

* * *

Back at the construction site, Goldar continues to duel with the Red and Green Rangers. Four Z-Putties have joined him. Green Ranger kicks Goldar backwards, knocking him away, and then he turns his attention to Z-Putties #1 and #2. Green Ranger kicks Z-Putty #1 in the stomach and then he blocks Z-Putty #2's right hook to his head and holds onto his fist. Z-Putty #2 punches his free left fist on Green Ranger's gut and he lets go of Z-Putty #1's fist. Putty #1 kicks at Green Ranger, but he blocks it and gives a karate yell as he lets loose a spinning heel kick that hits Z-Putty #1 on its chest Z. Z-Putty #1 is knocked down and it lands on its back on the floor. The chest Z glows with white energy, which then bathes over the Z-Putty. The limbs and body of Z-Putty #1 suddenly breaks apart bloodlessly into separate pieces and it vanishes. With Z-Putty #1 gone, Green Ranger duels with Z-Putty #2. Green Ranger ducks under Z-Putty #2's kick to his head and then he stands back up. Z-Putty #2 delivers a punch to Green Ranger's head, but he catches the Putty's fist with his left hand. With his right fist, G reen Ranger delivers a strong jab to Z-Putty #2's chest Z. As Green Ranger lets go of Z-Putty #2's fist, the Z-Putty glows with white energy and falls to its knees. Within seconds, Z-Putty #2 breaks apart and disappears.

GREEN RANGER: "Man! These clay-brains don't know when to stay down!"

RED RANGER: "Hang back, bro! I'll take care of these guys!"

Green Ranger nods and runs off to fight with Goldar again. Red Ranger lets out a karate cry as he punches Z-Putty #3 on his chest and knocks the Z-Putty back. Z-Putty #3 retaliates with a kick to Red Ranger's chest and he's pushed back a few steps, but isn't hurt. Z-Putty #3 tries another kick, but Red Ranger ducks and lets loose a foot sweep kick that knocks down Z-Putty #3 on the Z on its chest. Z-Putty #3 lands on its back on the floor, it glows with white energy and then it breaks apart into pieces in defeat. With Z-Putty #3 gone, Red Ranger stands and notices Z-Putty #4 approaching fast. Red Ranger quickly dodges Z-Putty #4's high kick to his head, and then he blocks Z-Putty #4's kick to his ribs. Z-Putty #4 punches at Red Ranger's head, but he catches Z-Putty #4's fist and lets out a karate yell as he flips him over. Z-Putty #4 hits the ground back-first and Red Ranger delivers a punch to its chest Z. Z-Putty #4 glows with white energy and it too breaks apart in defeat. Red Ranger turns around and runs off to help Green Ranger's fight with Goldar.

Elsewhere, Blue Ranger knocks Putty #5 down with a high kick and then proceeds to fight with Z-Putty #6. While they fight, Rito duels with Black Ranger. He blocks Black Ranger's kick and he slashes his sword on Black Ranger's chest, knocking him back a few steps. Rito moves in to attack again, but Black Ranger blocks his punch and sends Rito back with a kick to his ribs. Rito tries another attack, but Black Ranger lets loose a spinning heel kick that hits Rito on the head and knocks him to the ground.

Nearby, the Blue Ranger kicks Z-Putty #5 on the stomach and it staggers back. Blue Ranger kicks at the Putty's Z on its chest, but Z-Putty #5 blocks the kick. Blue Ranger tries to kick its chest again, but Z-Putty #5 again blocks the kick and kicks Blue Ranger's gut. Blue Ranger staggers back and gets into a fighting stance.

BLUE RANGER: "Zordon said that to beat you, I need to hit the Z on your chest. But you're not exactly making it easy for me, are you?"

Blue Ranger notices Z-Putty #6 is approaching their direction. Z-Putty #5 tries to kick Blue Ranger again, but he blocks it. Blue Ranger gives a KARATE YELL as he quickly punches Z-Putty #5 on the Z on its chest. Just as Z-Putty #5 falls and hits the ground, Blue Ranger spins around to Z-Putty #6 and knocks it down with a kick to its chest Z. Z-Putty #6 lies on the ground and it glows with white energy, just like the fallen Z-Putty #5. Both of the two defeated Z-Putties break apart into pieces and vanish.

BLUE RANGER: "Actually, that was kind of cool."

Nearby, Pink Ranger kicks Putty #7 on the chest and knocks him down. The Z-Putty glows and breaks apart. While Pink Ranger duels with Z-Putty #8, Scorpina knocks Yellow Ranger back with a kick to her chest. Scorpina slashes her sword at Yellow Ranger, but she catches the blade with her hands and kicks Scorpina in the gut. Scorpina staggers back and Yellow Ranger knocks her down with a left hook to her jaw. Yellow Ranger turns around and watches as Pink Ranger lets loose a high kick to the chest Z on Z-Putty #8. The Putty glows and breaks apart into pieces, defeated.

Meanwhile, Green Ranger and Red Ranger are once again dueling with Goldar. Red Ranger slashes his Power Sword at Goldar, but he blocks it with his own sword and delivers a kick to Red Ranger's stomach that pushes him back. Goldar kicks Green Ranger on the chest, knocking him back a few steps. Goldar delivers another kick, but Green Ranger blocks it and delivers a left hook punch that hits Goldar across the jaw. Goldar turns around and Red Ranger charges from behind him. Goldar kicks at Red Ranger, but he blocks it and uses his left fist to punch Goldar across the jaw. The punch knocks Goldar back and Red Ranger gives a karate cry as he kicks his right foot on Goldar's chest. Goldar staggers back a few more steps from the kick and Green Ranger lets out a karate yell as he jumps at Goldar, kicking his left leg out. His foot hits Goldar on his face and the kick knocks Goldar back, sending him falling to the ground. Green Ranger lands on his feet as Goldar hits the ground. Rito and Scorpina go over to Goldar, as he rises to his feet. The other four Rangers join the Red and Green Rangers, and they get into defensive stances. The eight Z-Putties have already been defeated.

RED RANGER: "Had enough, fang-face?"

GOLDAR: "You may've bested us, but this was just the warm up. It's our time now!"

Goldar looks skyward. The Rangers look up at the sky and see the two Dark Zords flying overhead, with the Wasp Zord carrying the Spider Zord under it. They quickly zoom off and into the city.

GREEN RANGER: "Aw, man! The Dark Power Zords are here!"

YELLOW RANGER: "And they're headed right for the city!"

The Rangers look back at Goldar, Rito and Scorpina.

GOLDAR: "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

Goldar, Scorpina and Rito teleport away, vanishing in a brief flash of light. The unconscious Guards are also teleported away, vanishing in bursts of indigo smoke.

RED RANGER: "Power Sword, power down!"

OTHER RANGERS (EXCEPT GREEN): "Power Weapons, power down!"

Except for the Green Ranger, each Rangers' respective Power Weapon(s) disappear in a flash of energy of their Ranger color. Green Ranger simply puts his Dragon Dagger back on his belt holster. Blue Ranger briefly wiggles his fingers, feeling only air now that his Lance has vanished.

BLUE RANGER: "Huh. It worked."

Red Ranger looks skyward, noticing the Dark Power Zords rushing off, and then he turns around to the other Power Rangers.

RED RANGER: "Come on, Rangers. We've got to get down to the city and stop the Dark Zords."

GREEN RANGER: "Right. Let's go, guys."

Red Ranger and the others look down at their left wrists and push the bottom buttons of their communicators, teleporting away in beams of energy of their Ranger suit color.

* * *

The downtown area of Angel Grove consists of dozens of tall business buildings and shopping centers. Dozens of people walk by on the sidewalk to some stores, while cars and trucks drive on the streets. The ground begins to shake and the cars slow down. The ground shakes again, knocking the people outside down to the ground. The Spider Zord approaches from behind a building, no longer connected to the Wasp Zord. A WOMAN SCREAMS as the Spider Zord walks down the street, its legs stabbing in the road. The people outside run away in terror as the Spider Zord approaches. People get out of their cars and run off, as the Spider Zord steps one of its legs down and smashes through the roof of a parked, abandoned car. The teleportation streaks shoot down from the sky and land on the ground. The energy streaks disappear to reveal the Rangers standing on the ground. Blue Ranger nearly falls over, but he regains his balance.

BLUE RANGER: "I still haven't quite got the hang of this teleporting thing."

YELLOW RANGER: "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

The Rangers look around, watching as people run off in fear and scream in terror.

PINK RANGER: "Think they beat us here?"

GREEN RANGER: "Man, these things are fast!"

MOTHER: "Susan!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Guys, look!"

The Rangers turn and see a young MOTHER trying to get past the crowd of fleeing people to her 6 year old daughter, SUSAN. Susan lies on the floor, rubbing her wounded knee. People run away and past her in a panic, some nearly trampling over her to get away.

MOTHER: "Let me through! I have to get to my daughter!"

The Spider Zord approaches the Mother's direction, picking up speed. The Rangers run at the crowd and move by the startled people passing by. Red Ranger gets through the crowd first and he lifts Susan up to her feet.

RED RANGER: "Gotcha! Are you okay?"

SUSAN: "I... I was running away and I fell."

MOTHER: "Susan!"

Red Ranger turns around and sees the Mother running to them. She eyes Red Ranger in shock as he hands Susan over to her.

RED RANGER: "She'll be fine! Get going!"

MOTHER: "A Power Ranger?"

RED RANGER: "It's not safe! Take her and go!"

The Mother nods and runs off with Susan with the crowd, holding Susan's hand. Red Ranger turns around and sees the Spider Zord kick over a car. Before he can react, the car knocks down on top of him and Red Ranger grunts as the car lands upside down on the floor. Pink Ranger notices the Red Ranger pinned down under the car.

PINK RANGER: "Red Ranger!"

The Green and Pink Rangers quickly run over to him, while the other Rangers help the crowd of fleeing people get away safely nearby.

GREEN RANGER: "You all right, buddy?"

RED RANGER: "I'm okay! Help me push this off!"

GREEN RANGER: "You got it! Come on!"

The three push at the car and slowly moves it up. The Red, Green and Pink Rangers push the car off of Red Ranger and the car lands on its side on the sidewalk, away from the passing people nearby. Red Ranger gets to his feet and brushes himself off. Wearing a special spandex Ranger suit certainly had its perks from harm. Red Ranger looks skyward, seeing the Wasp Zord is hovering overhead and looking down at the ground.

RED RANGER: "There's the other one."

The Wasp Zord fires a beam of red energy from its red eyes and it hits the street, hitting an abandoned car. The car explodes, making the fleeing people around the area run off faster.

PINK RANGER: "Whoa!"

Green Ranger looks over to his right, seeing the Black and Yellow Rangers lift a fallen YOUNG MAN to his feet.

YELLOW RANGER: "Are you all right?"

YOUNG MAN: "I... I think so."

BLACK RANGER: "Good. Go on! We'll take care of these things!"

The young man nods and runs off, as the Spider Zord knocks over a lamppost with its feet and flips it over at two fleeing YOUNG WOMEN. Blue Ranger runs to the people and leaps ahead, tackling the ladies to the floor.

BLUE RANGER: "Look out!"

Blue Ranger and the young women hit the floor, as the lamppost smashes through a window of an empty building. Blue Ranger gets up and helps the two ladies stand up.

BLUE RANGER: "Are you two hurt?"

YOUNG WOMAN #1: "No, uh... I don't think so."

BLUE RANGER: "Then get somewhere safe. We'll stop these Zords."

YOUNG WOMAN #2: "Yeah, sure. Thank you."

The women run off, following the last of the people away. Blue Ranger turns around and notices the Pink Ranger lift a young MAN to his feet.

PINK RANGER: "We'll handle this! Go on!"

The man nods and runs off down a road, following the other fleeing people. Pink Ranger turns around as the other Rangers join her.

BLUE RANGER: "I think that was the last of them."

GREEN RANGER: "I hope so. We've got some larger problems to deal with now."

The Spider Zord gets down the street to the six Power Rangers and looks down at them. The Spider Zord holds up its two front legs and from the tip of each leg fires a long strand of silky silver webbing at them. The Rangers roll away, dodging the fired web strands. The six Rangers get to their feet and step back, as the Wasp Zord's eyes shine with red energy.

RED RANGER: (yells) "_MOVE! **NOW!**_"

The Wasp Zord fires an energy blast at the road and the Rangers leap aside. The blast misses the Rangers, but hits the floor and makes a large explosion, creating a wide hole in the street.

GREEN RANGER: "Whoa!"

Red Ranger stands up and holds his right hand skyward.

RED RANGER: "Now that everyone seems to have gone, it's time to take these things down! We need Dino Zord power... _NOW!_"

* * *

The exteriors of the Command Center, atop the double-peaked mountain, have been fully restored to its original appearance, down to the main tube structure. The Command Center, though, is now twice as large as it was before. From the rocky grounds before the Command Center, the ground splits open and reveals an enormous hole in the ground before the hill. Emerging from the hole in the ground is the TYRANNOSAURUS DINO ZORD, with blue eyes, a silver chest, silver legs and silver arms. The head, body, back and tail of the Dino Zord is red. The Tyrannosaurus roars as it gets out from underground and stands on the ground.

Emerging from the ground beside it is the MASTODON DINO ZORD, with a black head and body, silver legs, green eyes and a silver trunk between its gray tusks. The Mastodon trumpets and a burst of icy mist comes from the Mastodon's trunk. Emerging to the right of the Tyrannosaurus is the TRICERATOPS DINO ZORD, with two silver horns on its forehead, a silver horn from the nose of its blue head, a long blue body with black wheels for legs, and red eyes. The Triceratops grunts as it gets out. A silver cannon hooked to the Triceratops' long silver tail. Emerging before the Tyrannosaurus is the SABER-TOOTHED TIGER DINO ZORD, with red eyes on its yellow head, silver legs attached to its yellow body and a long silver cannon for a tail. Two silver fangs stick out from the Saber Tooth Tiger's mouth and the Saber-Toothed Tiger growls.

As the four Dino Zords get out of the hole in the ground and onto the rocky ground before the hill, the PTERODACTYL DINO ZORD emerges from the enormous hole in the ground behind them. The Pterodactyl screeches as it flies out of the ground and into the air. The body of the Pterodactyl is red with silver armor on the chest of its front side, silver wings and a white head with pink eyes. The four Dino Zords on the ground below run away from the Command Center and quickly build up speed, running off to the city. The Pterodactyl Dino Zord screeches and it flies off after the other Zords at equally quick speed.


	17. Chapter 17

Back in downtown Angel Grove, the six Power Rangers Rangers step back and move away, as the Spider Zord fires a blast of webbing at them. Pink Ranger ducks and the strand sails over her head, splattering on the wall of a building behind her instead. She turns around and eyes the goo-like webbing dripping down the wall.

PINK RANGER: "Ew. Gross."

RED RANGER: (calls out) "Pink Ranger! Look out!"

The Spider Zord knocks its front left leg against Pink Ranger, knocking her backwards. She hits the webbing back-first, which sticks onto her body. Pink Ranger struggles against the webbing, trying to get loose.

PINK RANGER: (grunts) "The webbing is too sticky! I can't get free!"

RED RANGER: (calls out) "Hang on! I'm coming!"

Red Ranger runs to Pink Ranger, but the Wasp Zord fires an energy beam at the floor in front of him. The explosion knocks Red Ranger backwards and onto a parked car. Red Ranger grunts as he hits the windshield back-first. Black Ranger hurries over and stands at the side of the car. Black Ranger helps Red Ranger off the car and pulls him aside, as the Spider Zord lifts its leg up above the car.

BLACK RANGER: "Gotcha, Jase!"

The Red and Black Rangers move away in time, just as the Spider Zord stomps its leg down. The leg smashes through the roof of the car and stabs down to the street. Green Ranger runs over to Pink Ranger and holds up his Dragon Dagger.

GREEN RANGER: "Hold on. I got you."

Green Ranger cuts at the webbing with his dagger and cuts it off Pink Ranger. Pink Ranger struggles again to get loose for a few seconds, but to no avail. She tries again and the webbing on her body finally snaps. Once freed, Pink Ranger drops and lands crouched beside Green Ranger.

PINK RANGER: "Thanks."

BLUE RANGER: "I don't get it. Where're the Dino Zords?"

The Spider Zord approaches the Rangers and lifts up its front legs to strike. The floor suddenly shakes and the Spider Zord turns around as the five Dino Zords standing in the distance. Blue Ranger turns around and he stares at the Zords, impressed.

BLUE RANGER: "Oh...They're amazing."

RED RANGER: "They really are. It's sure good to see them again."

Pink Ranger stands next to Red Ranger and sets her hand on his shoulder. Red Ranger turns his head to face her.

PINK RANGER: "Ready to go?"

RED RANGER: (nods) "You bet. Let's do it, guys!"

The Tyrannosaurus Dino Zord approaches and Red Ranger runs to his Dino Zord. Red Ranger charges ahead, picking up speed, and then he lets out a karate yell as he jumps up into the air. Red Ranger's powerful leap pushes him up several stories into the air and he lands on top of the head of his Dino Zord. He opens the camouflaged entry door atop the Zord's head and he climbs down inside. Red Ranger shuts the door behind him from within the Zord.

* * *

Red Ranger sits at a chair in the small, red walled control room of the Tyrannosaurus Dino Zord and he sits before the control console. Two silver control joysticks, with red ridges down the sides and round red tops, stand out from either side of the control console. Red Ranger looks out through the windshield between his Zord's eyes.

RED RANGER: "Oh, man. I never thought I'd be sitting back in here again."

As much as he wanted to savor the moment of being back in his old Zord, Red Ranger quickly got back to focusing on the job at hand. Red Ranger looks down and notices a flat, round image on the console. Two flat red buttons are on the control console below the image - to the button on the left has an image of the Red Ranger helmet, while the button on the right has an image of a Tyrannosaurus. Each Zord has the same buttons, but with an image of their Ranger helmet and dinosaur on the buttons and their image is of their Power Coin's dinosaur image.

RED RANGER: "Initiating battle sequence!"

Red Ranger pushes two red flat buttons on the controls with his hands and the image lights up to reveal a Tyrannosaurus insignia, the same image on his Power Coin. With the buttons pressed, the Tyrannosaurus Zord begins to let out a buzz and quickly powers up.

RED RANGER: "Rangers, log on!"

* * *

Outside, the other Rangers, except Green Ranger, run down the street to their Dino Zords and they leap into the air. The four land on the heads of their respective Zord and then they open the hidden doors behind their Zord's head.

* * *

Inside the Triceratops Dino Zord's head, Blue Ranger walks in and sits on the chair at the controls of the blue walled control room. Two silver control joysticks with horizontal blue handles that point toward each other stand up from either side of the controls.

BLUE RANGER: "Wow. I'm inside!"

Blue Ranger looks around at his controls... and quickly had no idea what he was supposed to push.

BLUE RANGER: "Now what?"

RED RANGER: (on speaker) "Ethan, push the two flat buttons on the controls to activate your Zord."

Blue Ranger pushes the two flat blue buttons on the controls and the Zord powers up.

BLUE RANGER: "Right. Ethan here! Systems are powering up!"

* * *

Black Ranger sits at the chair before his controls of the black walled control room of the Mastodon Zord. Two black, square handgrip controls stick out from either side of his control console. Black Ranger pushes the two flat black buttons of his controls.

BLACK RANGER: "Zack here! All systems are fully charged!"

* * *

In the Saber-Toothed Tiger Zord's control room, Yellow Ranger sits at the chair before the control console of the yellow walled room. Two silver joysticks with yellow tops stands from her console. Yellow Ranger pushes the two flat yellow buttons and the Zord buzzes, powering up.

YELLOW RANGER: "Katherine here! All systems are now online!"

* * *

Within the Pterodactyl Zord's pink walled control room, Pink Ranger sits on her chair before the controls. A lone silver joystick with pink ridges down the front and back stands up from her console. Pink Ranger pushes the two flat pink buttons of her controls and then eyes the controls.

PINK RANGER: "Hey, guys, check it out! Digital surround sound stereo!"

* * *

In his Zord's control room, Blue Ranger looks down at the controls and he notices the equipment.

BLUE RANGER: "Say, she's right!"

* * *

In his Zord's control room, Red Ranger grabs hold of the two control sticks on his control console and he pushes them forward. The Tyrannosaurus steps forward in response. Red Ranger looks out of the windshield of his Zord at the two Dark Zords ahead.

RED RANGER: "All right, Rangers. Everyone take your controls and get ready to take them down. Tommy, you wanna join us?"

* * *

Outside, on the street near the Zords, Green Ranger holds up the handle of his Dragon Dagger to the gray mouthpiece of his helmet.

GREEN RANGER: "I'd love to, Jase."

Green Ranger pushes down on the buttons on the back of the handle, making a melody of musical notes from it by playing the Dragon Dagger like a flute... the tune is of the Dragonzord fanfare.

* * *

Looming in the water near Angel Grove Harbor, a lone small shadow appears under the water. The shadow grows larger and grows out wider, getting closer. Finally, there is an enormous burst of water, like an explosion occuring underwater as -

SPLASH! The 150 foot tall DRAGONZORD emerges out from the water and stands up. Dragonzord's body is mostly silver - including the head, body, arms, tail and legs. Claw symbols are on the green armored plates on its knees and hips and a Z symbol on its belt. A yellow circular armored plate on the chest and six red circles are on it. One circle is in the center of the chestplate and five are around it. Yellow armor is attached to the black armored back of the Dragonzord and its eyes are red. DRAGONZORD ROARS as it walks out of the water and approaches the shore.

* * *

On the balcony of the Lunar Palace, the three villains watch the Earth in shock at the sight of the Dino Zords' arrival. Rita looks away and she moans as she holds her forehead with her left hand.

RITA: "What?! The Dino Zords?! Oh, I'm getting a headache."

Zedd groans in response.

ZEDD: "Rita, every word you SPEAK gives me a headache."

DOMMINNOUS: "What are you complaining about? They won't be able to stop the Dark Zords!"

ZEDD: "Keep watching if you want. I'm getting some Tylenol."

Zedd turns around and walks off down the room.

* * *

Back in downtown Angel Grove, the Mastodon Zord approaches down a deserted road, walking to the Spider Zord ahead. Black Ranger looks out at the Spider Zord through the windshield between the Mastodon's eyes.

BLACK RANGER: "Okay, guys. I've got a lock on the Spider Zord!"

The Spider Zord turns around and quickly approaches the Mastodon.

BLACK RANGER: "Whoa, this thing is fast!"

The Spider Zord fires a strand of webbing at the Mastodon Zord, but it lifts up its trunk and sprays a blast of icy mist out. The icy mist freezes over the webbing instantly and it falls to the floor, shattering into shards of ice.

BLACK RANGER: "That was close."

The Spider Zord quickly leaps and tackles the Mastodon, knocking it to the floor.

BLACK RANGER: "Hey! I can't shake him off of me!"

The Tyrannosaurus Zord approaches from behind, with Red Ranger looking out at them through the windshield between the Zord's eyes.

RED RANGER: "Hold on, Zack! I've got him!"

Red Ranger pushes a button and the Tyrannosaurus turns, swatting its tail. The tail hits the Spider Zord on its side and knocks it off the Mastodon. The Spider Zord lands on its side on the floor, making a large crack in the deserted road. The Mastodon gets up to its feet, as the Spider Zord turns around.

BLACK RANGER: "Thanks. Keep your guard up. This thing's quick."

Within his Zord, Red Ranger nods and he types on his controls.

RED RANGER: "I've got just the thing to slow him down, buddy."

The Tyrannosaurus spins around, whipping its tail across the Spider Zord's face. The Spider Zord staggers back and collapses, landing on its side on another empty road. The Spider Zord gets to its feet and turns to the Tyrannosaurus Zord. The Spider Zord's green eyes shine with green energy and fires an energy blast that hits the Tyrannosaurus directly in the chest. The blast knocks the Tyrannosaurus back a few steps.

BLACK RANGER: "Jase, are you okay?"

RED RANGER: "I'm fine. Just a bit shaken up."

The Triceratops appears from behind the Spider Zord, stopping beside the Mastodon.

* * *

Within his Zord's control room, Blue Ranger looks out from the windshield between the Triceratops eyes as he types on the controls.

BLUE RANGER: "Hold on! I've got a lock on him!"

Blue Ranger pushes down on a button on the controls.

* * *

The Spider Zord's eyes shine again, aiming at the Tyrannosaurus. The Triceratops' tail tilts up and aims its cannon blaster at the Spider Zord. The Triceratops Zord fires a blast of blue energy from the cannon and hits the Spider Zord from behind. Spider Zord staggers forward and the Tyrannosaurus turns, swatting its tail across the Spider Zord's head. The Tyrannosaurus' tail knocks the Spider Zord aside and it hits the ground hard, cracking into the ground upon impact. The Spider Zord turns around and fires an energy blast at the Mastodon, knocking it back onto the Triceratops.

BLACK RANGER: "Whoa!"

The Spider Zord turns around and fires a strand of webbing, wrapping around the Tyrannosaurus' legs and pinning them together. The Tyrannosaurus wobbles off balance and staggers forward.

RED RANGER: "Oh, man! I can't move!"

The Spider Zord fires another strand of web, wrapping over the Tyrannosaurus' arms and body. The Tyrannosaurus hits the floor, landing on its front. Red Ranger shakes in his chair as the Zords hits the ground. Red Ranger struggles to pull back on the control sticks, but nothing happens.

RED RANGER: "The controls aren't responding! I can't get loose from the webbing!"

The Spider Zord goes over the fallen Tyrannosaurus and stabs its front legs down, striking the Tyrannosaurus' back over and over. Green Ranger looks on from the ground below.

GREEN RANGER: "Hold on, Red Ranger!"

Tommy plays another tune of music on his Dagger and the Spider Zord looks up. The Dragonzord appears before the Spicer Zord and swats its tail out, hitting the Spider Zord across its face. The Spider Zord staggers back off of the fallen Tyrannosaurus and hits the ground. Green Ranger runs down the sidewalk and to the Dragonzord.

GREEN RANGER: "All aboard. Hyah!"

He jumps up and to the Dragonzord's head.

* * *

Within the green walled control room of Dragonzord, Green Ranger opens the door from outside and gets inside. Green Ranger sits on his chair before the controls and pushes the two flat green buttons on it. Two green joysticks stand up from the console.

GREEN RANGER: "Dragonzord is logged on! Hold still a second, Jase!"

* * *

The lower half of the Dragonzord's tail starts to spin and then it lowers its tail to the Tyrannosaurus. The lower end of the tail spins, buzzing like a drill, and cuts through the webbing around the Tyrannosaurus, making it fall to the street. With the webbing cut off, the Tyrannosaurus stands up.

RED RANGER: "I've got control! Thanks, bro."

GREEN RANGER: "No problem."

Green Ranger looks up and sees the Spider Zord has already gotten to its feet. It leaps ahead and kicks the Triceratops, knocking it back. An explosion nearby makes the Dragonzord turn around to another part of the area.

GREEN RANGER: "What was that?"

The Wasp Zord is already fighting with the Saber-Toothed Tiger and Pterodactyl Zords. The Wasp Zord fires an energy blast from its eyes and hits the Saber-Toothed Tiger on the back. The Saber-Toothed Tiger hits the floor, crashing on top of three deserted trucks on the road.

GREEN RANGER: "Guys, Kat and Kim need help. I'll be back later."

RED RANGER: "Go on. We can handle this one."

The Tyrannosaurus gets to its feet and turns to the Spider Zord, as the Mastodon rams against it, bashing it against a deserted building. The Dragonzord turns and runs off down a long road of deserted cars to the buildings ahead. The Spider Zord swats the Mastodon back with its front legs, knocking it back. The Tyrannosaurus charges and tackles the Spider Zord back.

Nearby, the Pterodactyl dodges an energy blast fired from the Wasp Zord's eyes. The Wasp Zord fires again and the Pterodactyl turns to its side, flying away from the blast and missing it by inches. The Saber Toothed Tiger scrambles to its feet and raises its head.

* * *

In her control room, Pink Ranger eyes the Wasp Zord through the windshield between her Zord's eyes.

PINK RANGER: "Are you okay down there?"

YELLOW RANGER: (on speaker) "I'm locking onto it. Think you can distract it, Kim?"

PINK RANGER: "I'll hold it off as long as I can."

She pulls back on her joystick and takes off faster.

* * *

The Wasp Zord's eyes shine with energy and it fires a blast that hits the Pterodactyl on its side. The Pterodactyl is knocked back, sent falling down.

PINK RANGER: "Whoa! Okay. Let's try this again."

The Pterodactyl regains control, turning away and flying away from the Wasp Zord. The Wasp Zord fires another energy blast, but the Pterodactyl turns away and the beam hits an abandoned car. The impact of the energy beam makes the car explode, while the Wasp Zord goes after the Pterodactyl.

* * *

In her Zord's control room, Yellow Ranger is typing furiously on a control keyboard of her control console. A computer screen turns on, showing a file of the Zord's power systems that are powering up.

YELLOW RANGER: "I've almost got him. Can you can distract it a little longer?"

PINK RANGER: (on speaker) "No problem. I've got a clear shot at it."

* * *

The Pterodactyl fires a beam of pink energy from its eyes and it hits the Wasp Zord, shoving the Wasp back. The Wasp hits the floor, cracking the road under it upon impact. The Wasp Zord quickly gets up and fires an energy blast at the Pterodactyl, knocking it aside.

PINK RANGER: "I've been hit hard! I'm losing control!"

YELLOW RANGER: "Hang on, Kimberly! I've finished charging and I've got a clear shot!"

The Wasp Zord flies up, as the Saber Toothed Tiger aims its tail at it. The tip of its tail blaster shines with yellow energy and a beam of yellow energy flows from the tail blaster, hitting Wasp Zord on its side. The energy beam knocks the Wasp Zord away, and it crashes down into an empty parking lot.

YELLOW RANGER: "Direct hit!"

The Pterodactyl Zord flies up overhead, lowering its head to Wasp Zord.

PINK RANGER: "Nice shot! I'm circling around to hit it again!"

Wasp Zord raises its head and fires a blast first, hitting the chestplate. The blast knocks the Pterodactyl down and sends it falling from the sky.

PINK RANGER: "Whoooooaaaa!"

The Wasp Zord takes flight and at the Pterodactyl, just as the Dino Zord regains control. The Pterodactyl flies off and the Wasp Zord follows. Three red missiles suddenly fire out at the Wasp Zord and they hit the Zord on its side, knocking it away. Wasp Zord turns around, as Dragonzord approaches it and red missiles appear from each fingertip, ready to fire.

* * *

Within his Zord's control room, Green Ranger looks at his computer and the screen shows an image of the Wasp Zord. The words TARGET LOCKED flash under the Wasp image.

GREEN RANGER: "Would you mind if I give you ladies a hand?"

YELLOW RANGER: "We could always use a helping hand."

GREEN RANGER: "All right. Missiles are locked on target. Fire!"

Green Ranger pushes a button and two more missiles shoot out from Dragonzord's index fingers.

* * *

Back outside, the fired missiles hit the Wasp Zord on its chest and the impact pushes the Wasp Zord back. Despite the hits, Wasp Zord flies ahead and it turns around, aiming its stinger at the Dragonzord. The Wasp's stinger strikes the Dragonzord's chest, knocking it back a few steps. The Wasp Zord flies back and then lunges forward again, stabbing the stinger onto the Dragonzord's chest. Green Ranger grunts as his Zord staggers back roughly from the impact.

YELLOW RANGER: "Tommy, hang on! I'll get it away!"

Saber-Toothed Tiger Zord turns to the Wasp Zord and charges, picking up speed. When it gets close, Saber Toothed Tiger Zord leaps, jumping onto the Wasp Zord and holding onto its back. The Wasp Zord flies back and away from the Dragonzord. Wasp Zord soars up and starts to spin and turn, trying to shake Saber-Toothed Tiger off of it. Wasp Zord finally shakes Saber Toothed Tiger off of it and it hits the ground, crashing onto several parked cars on a street. Yellow Ranger grunts from the impact.

* * *

In the Dragonzord's control room, Green Ranger types on a keyboard on his control console.

GREEN RANGER: "Aw, man! We're getting nowhere with this thing!"

Green Ranger looks at his computer screen and it shows a blueprint image of Dragonzord. The tail of the Dragonzord is highlighted on the screen and the words TAIL DRILL STANDING BY flash under the Dragonzord blueprint image.

GREEN RANGER: "Let's finish this!"

Green Ranger pushes a button and -

* * *

The lower end of the Dragonzord tail spins again, buzzing like a drill. Wasp Zord turns around and charges at Dragonzord as it turns around. The tail drills into the Wasp's body and through in a blaze of green fiery energy. The Wasp Zord suddenly stops and the light in its eyes dim. The wings of Wasp Zord stop flapping and it stops moving, falling off of Dragonzord's tail. The Wasp Zord hits the floor and erupts in a large explosion as it is destroyed. Dragonzord turns away, as its tail stops spinning and returns to normal. Saber-Toothed Tiger Zord gets up to its feet, while the Pterodactyl Zord hovers in the sky overhead. Green Ranger pumps his fist down in the "yes" motion. This was definitely like old times.

GREEN RANGER: "One down, one to go! Let's help the others stop the Spider Zord!"

* * *

In another part of downtown Angel Grove, the fight between the Spider Zord and the other three Dino Zords resumes. The Mastodon is knocked back and lands on the road. The Spider Zord crawls to the Mastodon and it raises its front legs to strike down. The Tyrannosaurus swats its tail from behind and knocks against the Spider Zord's side, knocking it aside.

RED RANGER: "Get away from him!"

The Spider Zord hits the floor, landing on its side. The Mastodon gets up, as the Spider Zord turns and its eyes shine bright, as it begins to buzz. The Spider Zord stands up as it buzzes louder, powering up.

BLUE RANGER: "What's it doing now?"

RED RANGER: "It looks like it's changing!"

The two front legs on each side connect together, as the two back legs on each side connect together. The legs extend out in length, as the compartments on the merged front legs reveal a pair of silver metal hands instead of feet. The Spider Zord gets up onto its newfound longer legs, standing upright, as the hidden slit across the body opens. The body starts to grow out and forms a more muscular, armor-plated body. The head flips back and reveals a new armored face. The Spider Zord turns to the Zords, now in its new WARRIOR MODE and stands at a towering 350 feet.

GREEN RANGER: "Whoa! Looks like it just upgraded into a new battle mode!"


	18. Chapter 18

Back on the Lunar Palace's balcony, Domminnous watches the Earth through his telescope in shock.

DOMMINNOUS: "They... they destroyed the Wasp Zord?" (pauses) "But... but that's impossible!"

Domminnous growls with anger and makes his hands into fists. He was not accustomed to failing, even though he knew that Spider Zord would be victorious.

DOMMINNOUS: "No matter. The Spider Zord has just activated its warrior mode sequence. With its new height and enhanced power levels, the Rangers won't be able to stop this one!"

Rita walks off down the room and to the thrones.

RITA: "Whatever."

Domminnous turns around, as Rita takes the pills from Zedd's hand and sits on her throne.

DOMMINNOUS: "Now, now, Rita. Don't lose faith so early. They may have taken out one of the Zords, but our moment of victory is just moments away."

* * *

Back in downtown Angel Grove, the Spider Zord turns and kicks its left leg out, hitting the Tyrannosaurus on the side of its head. Tyrannosaurus Dino Zord staggers aside as Spider Zord turns around. Spider Zord blasts a beam of energy from its new eyes and hits the Triceratops Dino Zord, knocking it back. Blue Ranger grunts from the impact.

GREEN RANGER: "Hold on, Ethan!"

The Dragonzord fires out missiles from the fingertips of its hands. The eight missiles hit Spider Zord's armored chestplate and knocks it back a few steps. Spider Zord regains its balance and fires an energy blast from its eyes. The energy beam hits Dragonzord's chest, knocking it back to the floor.

GREEN RANGER: "Whoa! The missiles barely had any effect on him!"

Red Ranger looks out of the windshield of the Tyrannosaurus and at the other Dino Zords.

RED RANGER: "I think it's time we upgraded ourselves! Everyone, get ready to initiate the Megazord sequence!"

Red Ranger pushes a dark red button on his control console and the five Dino Zords, except Dragonzord, draw close to one another, as if magnetized to each other. The chest of the Tyrannosaurus opens up, its head goes down to reveal the Megazord head behind it and the Tyrannosaurus head slides into the open chestplate.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord sequence has been initiated."

The Mastodon's head comes off and the feet of its back legs change into hands. As the back legs of the Mastodon go out to its sides, the tails of the Triceratops and Saber-Toothed Tiger Zords lie down on their backs and the two Zords' heads tilt up. Saber Toothed Tiger's front legs stretch up and the back legs slide up into its back, as the Pterodactyl's head and wings retreat onto its back. The Tyrannosaurus's arms lean up on its chest, as the Tyrannosaurus' chestplate closes and the Mastodon snaps onto the back of it. The Mastodon's back legs are now the Megazord's arms, while the lower half of Tyrannosaurus' legs fold back behind its knees. The Saber Toothed Tiger and Triceratops Zords are pulled to the Tyrannosaurus' knees and they snap on over them. The Saber Tooth is now the right Megazord leg and the Triceratops is the left leg. The Tyrannosaurus' tail leans up against its back and connects to the Mastodon body. The Pterodactyl flies ahead and connects over the Tyrannosaurus' chest and to the Mastodon, making the red armored chestplate of the Megazord. The Tyrannosaurus stands up with its new legs, as the two red horns from the back of the Megazord head connect to each side of its head. With the change complete, the Megazord's eyes flash with yellow light.

COMPUTER VOICE: "Megazord activated!"

The 350 foot tall Megazord gets into a defensive stance, as the Spider Zord turns around to it. Green Ranger looks out of the windshield and stares at Megazord.

GREEN RANGER: "Like old times, all right."

* * *

Within the control room of the Megazord, behind its yellow eyes, Red Ranger sits in the middle of the room before a large control console. Blue Ranger is seated at a console to Red Ranger's right and Black Ranger is seated at his own console to Red Ranger's left. Yellow Ranger sits beside Blue Ranger at her own console, while Pink Ranger is seated at a console beside Black Ranger.

RED RANGER: "All right, guys. Let's squash this bug before it does any more damage!"

The other Rangers nod and hold up their fists.

YELLOW, PINK and BLACK RANGERS: "Morphin!"

A split second later, Blue Ranger holds up his right fist, mimicking his teammates.

BLUE RANGER: "Morphin!"

The other Rangers look over at Blue Ranger, noticing his late reply, and he shrugs at them.

BLUE RANGER: "What? I'm new at this."

* * *

Back out in the city, the Spider Zord warrior mode approaches Megazord. Spider Zord kicks its left leg high and hits the Megazord on its chest. Megazord staggers back and the Spider Zord kicks again. Megazord blocks its kick and punches the Spider Zord across the jaw with its right fist. The Spider Zord staggers back and Megazord punches again. The Spider Zord blocks the punch and punches the Megazord on its face, knocking it back a few steps.

* * *

In Megazord's control room, the Rangers are shaken a bit in their seats from the hit, but the Megazord quickly regains its balance.

BLUE RANGER: "This thing packs quite a punch."

BLACK RANGER: "Maybe so, but we've got some moves of our own."

Black Ranger pushes a button on the controls.

BLACK RANGER: "Initiating Mammoth Shield!"

* * *

The Megazord punches ahead at Spider Zord and the Mastodon head suddenly appears over its left fist to form the Mammoth Shield. Megazord punches the Mammoth Shield on Spider Zord's chest, knocking it back a few steps. Megazord punches again, but the Spider Zord kicks high and hits the Megazord's face, hard. Megazord is knocked back from the hit and falls to the floor. The Spider Zord kicks down at Megazord, knocking it aside. Spider Zord kicks at it again, but the Dragonzord lashes its tail from behind. Dragonzord's tail hits the Spider Zord's side and the hit knocks it aside. Spider Zord turns to Dragonzord, as Green Ranger pushes a button on his controls. Dragonzord lashes its tail high, hitting the Spider Zord against the side of its head. The hit knocks the Spider Zord aside.

GREEN RANGER: "Leave 'em alone, ugly!"

Spider Zord turns and fires a strand of webbing at Dragonzord from its right palm. Dragonzord moves aside and the webbing misses, instead splattering onto the wall of a nearby building. Megazord stands up and turns to face the Spider Zord. As the Megazord turns, the Spider Zord stops firing its web and kicks high at Dragonzord, kicking its face. Dragonzord staggers back from the kick and the Spider Zord kicks its leg out. Its foot hits the Dragonzord's chest and the Dragonzord falls. Dragonzord lands with a crash on top of a deserted parking lot building and Green Ranger grunts as he's shaken in his seat from the collision.

RED RANGER: "Hang on, Tommy!"

Megazord charges at the Spider Zord and rams its shoulder against it, knocking Spider Zord back. Spider Zord turns to face Megazord and punches at its face. Spider Zord punches high and hits Megazord's chestplate. The impact of the hit knocks the Megazord back a few steps. Spider Zord delivers a quick smack to Megazord and swats the Mammoth Shield out of its hand. The Mammoth Shield falls and lands on top of an abandoned Coca-Cola truck, crushing it like an empty can.

BLACK RANGER: "Oh, man! We've lost the Mammoth Shield!"

Megazord reaches for the Mammoth Shield, but Spider Zord launches a kick to Megazord's side and it staggers back. Megazord quickly recovers and punches at Spider Zord's face, but it blocks it and quickly counter-punches Megazord on its face. The Rangers grunt as the Megazord shakes and staggers back from the hit. Megazord recovers and punches at Spider Zord, but it blocks the punch and kicks Megazord back a few steps.

* * *

Inside the Megazord control room, the Power Rangers shake in their seats a moment from the hit.

RED RANGER: "Kim, how much longer until the Megazord reaches full power?"

Pink Ranger turns and eyes a computer screen on the controls. A round power chart image is on the screen, with a third of it filled in with white light.

PINK RANGER: "About another minute or so."

BLUE RANGER: "What's going on?"

RED RANGER: "We need to keep this guy busy a bit longer before we have enough power to take it down. Tommy, think you can give us a hand until our back-up power system charges up?"

* * *

Back outside, Dragonzord turns to face Spider Zord in its warrior mode.

GREEN RANGER: "I've got a lock on the Spider Zord now, Jase."

The missiles appear in Dragonzord's fingertips, as Megazord struggles with the Spider Zord.

RED RANGER: "All right, then. Here he comes, Tommy. Ai-yah!"

Red Ranger pushes a button and Megazord kicks its knee on Spider Zord's gut. Spider Zord staggers back and Green Ranger pushes down on a large green button.

GREEN RANGER: "Missiles fired!"

The missiles shoot out of Dragonzord's fingertips and hit Spider Zord on its back. The missiles explode upon impact on Spider Zord's back and the blasts makes it stagger forward. Megazord's Saber-Toothed Tiger leg kicks high, hitting the Spider Zord on its face. The Spider Zord is knocked off the ground and falls to a deserted road, landing on top of several deserted cars and trucks. Spider Zord scrambles to its feet and spins around, kicking its leg high and hitting Dragonzord's face. The kick knocks Dragonzord back a few steps. The Spider Zord quickly turns to face Megazord and fires an energy beam from its eyes, hitting Megazord's armored chestplate. The blast knocks Megazord back a few steps. Spider Zord delivers a high kick to Megazord's face and it staggers back. Spider Zord fires a strand of webbing at Megazord's chestplate and then it pulls Megazord forward roughly. When it is close enough, Spider Zord delivers a kick to Megazord's stomach and it staggers back. Spider Zord turns around to see Dragonzord swat its tail at its head. Spider Zord blocks it and delivers an energy blast from its eyes that knocks Dragonzord to the ground, crushing several parked, abandoned cars as it lands. Spider Zord in warrior mode turns to Megazord and delivers an energy blast from its eyes. The blast hits Megazord's chest and the Megazord staggers back, sustaining major damage to its chestplate.

* * *

In Megazord's control room, a few of the controls' units begin to spark as the Rangers struggle to keep seated as the Megazord shakes. The Megazord was taking serious damage and it had been a long time since he'd helped the Rangers fight an enemy this tough.

RED RANGER: (grunts) "Oh, man! We can't take much more of this!"

BLACK RANGER: "Shields have dropped to forty percent, Jason!"

YELLOW RANGER: "I've got the control systems stabilized, but our power supply has dropped to thirty-five percent!"

RED RANGER: "Kim, how much longer until the back-up system has powered up?"

Pink Ranger turns and looks at the computer screen, eyeing the round power chart image. The round chart is now filled completely with white light and the screen reads FULL POWER REACHED beneath the chart image.

PINK RANGER: "Okay, we're fully charged!"

RED RANGER: "All right! Now let's wrap this up, guys! We need the Mega Power Sword... now!"

Red Ranger pushes his fist down atop a silver button on his control panel and he looks out of the windshield, looking skyward.

* * *

There is a faint, dim flash of white light in the sky above and then the light fades. After a moment, the large, silver Mega Power Sword suddenly drops down from the sky and lands with its blade stabbed into the deserted road, a few feet before the Megazord. Megazord grabs the handle of the Mega Power Sword with its right hand and pulls the Sword out of the ground. Spider Zord charges at the Megazord, but Megazord punches its left fist out and hits the Spider Zord on the chest, making it stagger back several steps. Spider Zord tries to punch at Megazord, but it blocks and kicks with its Triceratops leg. The kick to Spider Zord's chest pushes the Spider Zord back several steps, nearly knocking it over. Dragonzord gets to its feet and looks on at the duel.

* * *

Within the Megazord control room, the five Power Rangers look out through the windshield at the unseen Spider Zord ahead. Red Ranger pushes his right hand on a large, flat, wide red button on his controls.

RED RANGER: "Let's shut this Power Zord down for good, guys!"

FIVE RANGERS: "Hyah!"

* * *

There is a brief buzz of renewed, increased power from within and the eyes of the Megazord burn with yellow energy. Yellow light strobes in Megazord's eyes as it lifts its arm up and raises the Mega Power Sword with its blade pointed skyward. A bolt of lightning suddenly strikes from above and the lightning charges up the Sword. The Sword glows brighter and brighter with white energy, and as the lightning bolt vanishes, the Mega Power Sword has become fully energized. Megazord strikes its arm down and the Mega Power Sword slices down in front of the Spider Zord from the top of the middle of its head down. The energized Sword strikes over the Spider Zord in a blurred wave of motion, bathing over the Zord in white energy. Spider Zord staggers back and stiffens, as the energy wave that hits its body burns with white hot light. The light from the Zord's eyes dims and finally fades away. The Spider Zord quickly falls backwards and hits the ground in an enormous, fiery explosion. Megazord turns away and lowers its arm.

* * *

In the Megazord control room, the Rangers cheer as they turn to one another, slapping hands in high fives or turning to one another and hugging.

BLACK RANGER: "Yeah! We did it!"

PINK RANGER: "Morphinomenal!"

RED RANGER: "Way to go, guys!"

* * *

In the Command Center, Zordon, Dulcea, Alpha 5 and Ionisos look on at the Viewing Globe at the Zords. Zordon smiles proudly.

ALPHA 5: "Hooray! They did it! They did it!"

ZORDON: "Well done, Rangers."

* * *

In downtown Angel Grove, Megazord turns to face Dragonzord and the Rangers look at Green Ranger through his Zord's windshield. Green Ranger raises his left hand to them and lifts his thumb up.

GREEN RANGER: "Great job, guys!"

RED RANGER: "Come on, Rangers! Let's get the Dino Zords back and get going!"

Red Ranger pushes an orange flat button on the controls and the Rangers' Zords separate, transforming from Megazord back to their original selves.

* * *

Back at the Lunar Palace, Domminnous turns away furiously as fiery energy burns in his eyes and palms. His greatest creations... destroyed?! By six HUMANS?!

DOMMINNOUS: (yells) "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

ZEDD: (groans) "Not so loud."

Domminnous sneers and he walks from the balcony into the throne room to Lord Zedd and Rita.

DOMMINNOUS: "I just can't believe it! Those - those Rangers destroyed the Dark Power Zords! They were the most powerful engines of destruction that I had ever possessed in my forces!"

RITA: "We know!"

DOMMINNOUS: "I know that they've been disassembled, but - but it's not possible for them to be destroyed!"

ZEDD: (groans) "We know!"

DOMMINNOUS: "The - the power levels on their Dino Zords! They - they were too great for the Dark Power Zords to handle!"

ZEDD and RITA: (at the same time) "We KNOW!"

Domminnous sneers at them and makes his hands into fists.

DOMMINNOUS: "All right. I admit it. I clearly underestimated these pitiful little specks. But make no mistake. We will take down the Power Rangers and their precious little Angel Grove. And when we've finished them off and their miserable city, the world WILL be ours!"

Domminnous looks away in anger and rubs the side of his head. Domminnous groans in response.

DOMMINNOUS: "Those damn Rangers..."

Rita holds out her hand to Domminnous, with two medicine pills in her palm.

RITA: "Here. You might want to take these."

Domminnous sneers and walks off. The doors open and Goldar, Rito and Scorpina enter the room.

RITO: "Hey, guys. What'd we miss?"

As Domminnous gets to the door, he turns to Rito and punches him across the jaw. The punch knocks Rito down to the floor.

DOMMINNOUS: (snaps) "Oh, SHUT UP!"

Domminnous storms out as Rito sits up and rubs his jaw.

RITO: "Whoa! What'd I say?"


	19. Chapter 19

In the control room of the Command Center, the six morphed Power Rangers teleport into the Command Center and stand by the controls.

ALPHA 5: "Welcome back, Rangers."

IONISOS: "We saw your performance on the Viewing Globe, Rangers. Well done."

The Rangers flip the switches on the sides of their helmets and open them up. The Rangers remove their helmets and set them down on the control stands. Kimberly looks down at her armored Pink Ranger suit and smiles.

ZORDON: "Are you all right?"

KIMBERLY: "These new suits worked great. I didn't feel a thing when I got hit!"

ZACK: "And the Zords worked way better than they did before!"

TOMMY: "Yeah. I'm just glad to be wearing this suit again without the fear of losing my powers every time I morph."

Ethan gives Tommy a puzzled look.

ETHAN: "What?"

Kimberly smiles and she sets her hand down on Ethan's shoulder.

KIMBERLY: "It's a long story."

ZORDON: "Now that the Dark Power Zords are destroyed, the city... and the world... will be safe again. However, Domminnous, Rita and Zedd will not let this defeat stop them. They'll come back to finish the job with new, more powerful forces over time and I will need a team of Power Rangers. You worked well as a team, but I cannot ask you to stay on and give up what you have now to risk your lives saving the planet. We'll do all we can to find a team to replace you."

The Rangers look at each other for a moment. Jason steps forward to Zordon.

JASON: "But we don't have to give up the Power Coins."

ZORDON: "Jason, you are an adult now. You all have your own lives to lead and your own choices to make. I cannot ask you to give them up to have you help us."

JASON: "You know me better than that, Zordon. You know you never have to."

DULCEA: "What're you saying, Jason?"

JASON: "You said it yourself, Zordon. You need a team of Power Rangers to take on Domminnous, Rita, Zedd and all of their monsters."

Jason turns to the others a moment and then he turns back to Zordon.

JASON: "I cannot speak for the others. If they want to leave, I will respect their decision and won't force them into staying. But I know firsthand what these creeps can do and what they're capable of if they ever succeed. I won't let that happen."

Kimberly smiles at Jason, as Zack looks away and lowers his head. Jason turns around to Zordon and holds his Red Ranger helmet under his arm.

JASON: "With your permission, Zordon, I would like to remain on active duty as part of the team."

Kimberly smiles and steps forward, holding Jason's hand.

KIMBERLY: "And so would I."

Jason looks at Kimberly, noticing her smile, and he returns the smile. Tommy nods and steps forward.

TOMMY: "Yeah. Me, too."

KAT: "And me."

ETHAN: "And me."

The other Rangers turn around and look at Zack. Zack looks at Jason and smiles.

ZACK: "And me."

Jason beams a smile and Zack steps forward. Kimberly looks at Zack, a bit surprised, and she smiles. Ionisos turns to Zordon and lets out a grin.

IONISOS: "Well, it looks like we have a perfectly good team assembled here." (shrugs) "What do you think, Zordon?"

Zordon smiles and nods.

ZORDON: "Very well. You can all stay on active duty as the new team of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."

Kimberly smiles and hugs Zordon.

KIMBERLY: "Thank you."

ZORDON: "You're welcome, Kimberly. It's good to see you all back."

Kimberly turns around and looks at Zack, as the other Power Rangers talk with one another.

KIMBERLY: "Zack, can I see you for a second?"

Zack nods and walks with Kimberly down the room. They stand by the Viewing Globe and Kimberly eyes Zack in concern.

KIMBERLY: "Are you sure you want to stay here? I mean, what about your home and your dance club?"

ZACK: "I know someone who can handle the club better than I can and he'll take care of it for me. Besides, Jason was right. We are the ones who know what these guys can do and after all we've been through, I'm not about to let them win now." (smiles) "Besides, I never did like flying coach. And I do want to get to know my way around my old home town again."

Kimberly smiles and hugs Zack.

KIMBERLY: "Welcome back, Zack."

Jason sets his helmet down on top of a control console, and then he walks over to Zack and stands behind him.

JASON: "Hey, Zack."

Zack ends the hug and turns to Jason.

JASON: "You sure you want to stay on the team? I thought you were going back this week."

Zack looks at Kimberly and then turns to Jason.

KIMBERLY: "Well, you see -"

Zack puts his hand on Kimberly's shoulder gently, stopping her.

ZACK: (interrupts) "Remember when I was trying to talk to you at the Fitness Center earlier, Jase? Well, I was going to ask if you and Kim could help me find a new home down here. Would you mind giving me a hand?"

Jason smiles and he nods at his old friend.

JASON: "Of course. Welcome back, Zack."

Zack smiles at Jason.

* * *

The next day, at 3:45 p.m. Ionisos stands before Angel Grove High School. He is now wearing a black business suit, tie and glasses. Ionisos looks at the building and smiles.

TOMMY (not seen): "All right, everyone. Settle down."

* * *

In his classroom, Tommy stands behind his desk, wearing a white shirt with black vertical stripes and black pants. He looks at the twelve seated students before his desk.

TOMMY: "I know this is the first week of summer school and you're anxious to make up the work you weren't able to before, but I assure you, if you work hard enough, you'll be done before you know it."

The bell rings and the students rise up from their seats, walking down the room.

TOMMY: "I'll see you back here tomorrow for our review of Chapter Three, so make sure you're ready for that."

The students walk out of the classroom and Tommy grabs the eraser off the chalkboard. He proceeds to erase the writing off of the board.

* * *

A few minutes later, in the school's main hall, Tommy walks down the hall, as the door to the Principal's office opens. MR. LEWIS - mid-50s and bald - walks out of the open doorway, with Ionisos following him out. Tommy notices Ionisos walk out and he stops walking.

MR. LEWIS: "I'll get a schedule made up for you and show you around."

Ionisos and Lewis turn around and look at Tommy.

MR. LEWIS: "Oh, Dr. Oliver. Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Ian Olsen. He's one of the new staff members we hired."

IONISOS: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Oliver."

Tommy nods and shakes Ionisos' hand.

TOMMY: "Likewise. Welcome to Angel Grove High."

MR. LEWIS: "I'll see you back here tomorrow at eight, Mr. Olsen."

IONISOS: "All right. Goodbye, Principal Lewis."

MR. LEWIS: "Goodbye."

Ionisos walks with Tommy down the hall and to the entry/exit doors, while Mr. Lewis turns and walks back into his office.

* * *

As the last school bus drives away, the front doors open and Ionisos walks outside. Tommy follows Ionisos out and closes the door.

TOMMY: "So, you're working here?"

IONISOS: "Remember that serum Dulcea took to stay on Earth unaffected? Well, I took it myself so that while on Earth, we could both be able to live on your planet safely and have our bodies adapt and change to resemble yours. While we are here on Earth, we are humans, Thomas, down to the blood samples and D.N.A. But while we're here, we needed to find a way to pass the time while we're living on Earth. We decided to get jobs and live among you, but also be your supervisors to watch out for you whenever you're absent. That is why I'm a supervisor at the school and will teach class for you in your absence."

Both men stop walking and stand on the sidewalk.

TOMMY: "So you can make sure I can leave without anyone getting suspicious? But what about the others?"

Ionisos just smiles in response.

IONISOS: "Don't worry about your friends, Thomas. It's been taken care of."

* * *

In the main hall of the Fitness Center, Jason walks down the hall, wearing a gray shirt and black pants. Kimberly and Zack walk beside him. Zack is wearing a gray tank top, black pants and sneakers, while Kimberly is wearing a black tank top, yellow pants and black sneakers with yellow laces.

ZACK: "That dance studio next door is nice and big. I heard they were hiring and I got an interview for a job there tomorrow."

KIMBERLY: "I'd say good luck, but with your skills and moves, I'd say the job is already yours."

ANDREWS: "Actually, it is."

The three stop walking and they see Mr. Andrews walk down the hall to them.

ZACK: "Excuse me, sir?"

ANDREWS: "The Plaza was recently bought by a new business mogul I never heard of. She owns this section now and has control over the entire Plaza. What she says happens and so, she's hired you."

ZACK: "Wow. Where is she?"

ANDREWS: "She's right over there, talking to the receptionist."

Jason, Kimberly and Zack walk down the hall and to the desk of the receptionist, SUZANNE - late 20s with short brunette hair. Standing before Suzanne is Dulcea, wearing a brown business suit, skirt and glasses.

DULCEA: "Call the Theatre Arts center and tell them I'd like a copy of the teachers' schedules, Suzanne."

SUZANNE: "Yes, Miss Kamps."

Dulcea turns to Jason, Kimberly and Zack and the three stop walking. The three eye Dulcea in surprise and she smiles at them.

DULCEA: "Hello. I don't believe we've been formerly introduced. I'm Danielle Kamps, the new owner. Can I see you three in my new office in the business center?"

KIMBERLY: "Uh... yeah. Sure."

Dulcea turns and walks down the hall with Jason, Zack and Kimberly.

* * *

A short time later, in Dulcea's office, Zack, Ethan, Katherine, Jason and Kimberly sit on chairs before Dulcea's desk. Dulcea removes her glasses and looks at the three before her. Katherine is wearing a T-shirt and denim jeans, while Ethan is wearing a black tank top and black pants.

DULCEA: "And since I own the Plaza, I can control your work schedules and make sure your work and pay don't suffer, should you be called away."

KAT: "But how did you afford to buy the Plaza?"

Dulcea smiles.

DULCEA: "Two of your old friends were kind enough to send some of their savings to get my fortune started and buy the Plaza. I believe they were your replacement Red and Black Rangers."

ZACK: "Rocky and Adam? They helped you?"

DULCEA: "They insisted. With the money they earned on Rocky's new film project, it was just enough to buy the Plaza and get me a small apartment two blocks from here. And, since Ionisos is supervising Thomas at Angel Grove High, he can attend to his science class when he is called away. Now then, I believe you all have finished your work. I'll see you all back here at work tomorrow, all right?"

JASON: "All right, Dulc - er, Miss Kamps. Good night."

DULCEA: "Good night."

The five rise from their seats and turn, walking out of the room.


	20. Chapter 20

That night, in the Juice Bar, the six Rangers are seated together at a table for six. Katherine sits on a seat between Tommy and Ethan at one side of a table for six. Jason sits on the other side of the table, between Kimberly and Zack. Each has a large glass of soda set before them. Five of the six Rangers are wearing new clothes now. Kimberly is wearing a pink hairband, a pink tank top, bluish-green shorts, bluish-green socks and pink shoes. Jason is wearing a white tank top over a red T-shirt, a black belt with a gold buckle, red pants, white shoes and white socks. Zack is wearing a black T-shirt, purple vest, brown belt with a gold buckle, purple pants, black socks and purple shoes. Tommy is wearing a white tank top, brown belt with a gold buckle, green pants, black socks, brown boots. Kat is wearing a white jacket over a yellow T-shirt, yellow pants, a black belt with a gold buckle, and yellow shoes.

ZACK: "We're all here relaxing for a change. A guy could get used to this."

Jason holds up his glass of Dr. Pepper.

JASON: "Well, I think this calls for a toast. To Zack's return."

Kimberly smiles and she holds up her glass of Coca-Cola.

KIMBERLY: "To being together again."

Tommy smiles and holds up his glass of iced tea.

TOMMY: "To old times."

Kat holds up her glass of iced tea.

KAT: "To our new times together."

Ethan holds up his glass of Coca-Cola.

ETHAN: "To trust."

Zack smiles and holds up his glass of Dr. Pepper.

ZACK: "To the look I wish we could've seen on Domminnous' face when his Dark Power Zords exploded."

Tommy smiles and nods.

TOMMY: "We'll drink to that."

The six toast their drinks together and then they sip from their glasses. Kimberly sets down her glass on the table and looks at the bar. Margaret turns up the volume on the TV.

KIMBERLY: "Guys, look."

The five turn around and to the TV on the wall by the bar. The six rise from their seats and walk to the bar, as a CUSTOMER looks at Margaret.

CUSTOMER #1: "Hey, Margaret, turn it up!"

Margaret turns up the volume on the TV set, as footage of the Spider Zord appears on the screen. Several customers, including Jessica and Hank, gather around the bar and look at the footage playing on TV. The TV then shows footage of the Red Ranger handing the girl Susan to her mother.

HELEN: (NARRATES TV FOOTAGE) "This was the scene just last night in downtown Angel Grove when one of our own cameramen on the scene was lucky enough and brave enough to catch this exclusive footage."

CUSTOMER #2: "My God!"

MARGARET: "Unbelievable."

Helen appears on the TV screen, holding her microphone.

HELEN: "And after a prolonged battle, the Power Rangers destroyed the two monstrous robots with their own Dino Zords. While it is unclear why the Power Rangers returned after such a lengthy absence or where they have been all these years, the Mayor sent out an official statement this morning on the matter, saying, quote, 'I'm not sure why they came back to Angel Grove, but we are grateful for all that they have done and I thank them for all of their help. Welcome back, Power Rangers.'"

Kimberly smiles and looks at Jason, while Tommy smiles at Kat and holds her hand.

CUSTOMER #1: "You can say that again!"

JESSICA: "Oh, wow. This is unbelievable!"

Tommy's watch beeps in a low musical melody and Tommy turns around to face the others.

TOMMY: "Let's go, you guys."

KAT: "Right."

The six walk off and into the hallway. Fortunately, the people in the Juice Bar were so excited by the return of the Power Rangers, no one noticed.

HELEN: "Meanwhile, here's our weatherman with a look at tomorrow's forecast."

* * *

The back doors of the Juice Bar swing open and Jason, Tommy, Katherine, Ethan, Zack and Kimberly walk outside. They look around and walk to the back of the Juice Bar, which is deserted. Tommy pushes his finger down on the talk button of his communicator.

TOMMY: "Zordon, we're here."

ZORDON: (on the communicator) "Rangers, please report to the Command Center. It's urgent."

The six exchange looks of concern.

ZACK: "Here we go again."

Kimberly looks at Jason, noticing his grim look, and she lets out a soft smile.

KIMBERLY: "Ready to go?"

Jason looks at Kimberly, and then he returns the smile and nods at her. Jason presses his finger down on the talk button of his red communicator.

JASON: "We're on our way, Zordon."

Jason looks at his friends and he nods at them.

JASON: "Back to action!"

Tommy smirks. It'd been a long time since he heard his friend say that. The six unmorphed Rangers look down at their communicators and push the bottom buttons. The six disappear in the streaks of energy of their respective Ranger suit color and they soar up into the night sky.


End file.
